khilafah magazine december 2002

Since the events of September 11th2001, it is abundantly clear that theWestern governments have beenconducting a ruthless campaignagainst Islam and Muslims under thedisguise of a "War on Terror". Wehave witnessed with immensesadness the events that have taken place in thename of the "War on Terror" such as the killing ofthe Muslims of Afghanistan...

If there was ever a need for ashort discussion for anyargument, then the Americanadministrations insane, ruthlessand incessant, of what can onlybe termed as 'blind infatuation'for war against Iraq, providesthe reader with a very apt caseworthy of such consideration...

AAmmeerriiccaann UUnniillaatteerraalliissmm&& tthhee RRoollee ooff

PPuubblliicc OOppiinniioonn

ContentsShawwal 1423 - December 2002

KhilafahCover Issue 12 Volume 15

December 2002 Khilafah Magazine 3

EEddiittoorriiaall

NNeewwss ffrroomm aarroouunndd tthheewwoorrlldd

4

The previous month saw theMosques full of peopleworshipping Allah (SWT) inthe day and night, millions ofMuslims the world oversacrificed their time andenergy to seek the pleasure of

Allah (SWT), praying the Taraweeh Salaat, doingItikaaf, making Umrah whilst fasting all the while.Ramadhan is a month of great blessing, and a timewhen all Muslims openly enjoin in the gooddeeds...

Festivals are an important toolused by the Capitalist states. It isfirst and foremost big businessfor them. They are used toincrease revenue for theexchequer, as many things aremarketed, and sold. Festivals,increase spending, and produce aconsumer bonanza...

The obligation we areabout to discuss issomething the Muslimstook for granted, for wellover a thousand years,much like the obligationof Salah and fasting todaywhich, al-hamdu lillah,are not open to discussionand debate. However theProphet (saw) did warn us

there would come a time when the Deen will becomestrange and unrecognizable to the people and thosecarrying its Call will be seen as strange due to theMessage that they carry...

FFeessttiivvaallss aannddCCeelleebbrraattiinngg EEiidd 8

5PPoosstt RRaammaaddhhaannWWoorrsshhiipp

BBrriittaaiinn''ss qquueesstt ttoo wwiinn tthheepprrooppaaggaannddaa wwaarr

LLeetttteerrss ttoo tthhee EEddiittoorr

SSttrraaww ccoommmmeennttss oonnBBrriittaaiinn''ss ccoolloonniiaall ppaassttwwhhiillsstt ccoonnttiinnuuiinngg uuppoonnccoolloonniiaalliissmm

TThhee FFaarrddiiyyyyaahh((OObblliiggaattiioonn)) ooffwwoorrkkiinngg ffoorr KKhhiillaaffaahh

The UK Foreign Secretary, JackStraw in a recent interview with aBritish magazine, the NewStatesman commented onBritain's colonial past. Hefocussed on the legacy ofphysical colonialism in an

attempt to portray Britain asremorseful of its past...

RReeffeerreennccee

1. Ronald and Friends on Trial2. Not in the Best Interest 3.NATO Prague Summit-reinforcing War on Islam 4.The Beggars Choice5. Bangladesh's criminaljustice reforms 6. Miss World7. Former Italian PMconvicted of murder

On behalf of the editorial team, we sendcongratulations to you on the advent of the blessedEid al-Fitr. We ask al-Mawla (The Protector) 'Azza waJall to accept the prayers of all the Muslims.

As we leave the blessed month of Ramadan, itsbeautiful days and its fragrant nights. We leave themonth of the Qur'an, taqwa, patience, jihad, mercy,forgiveness and freedom from hellfire. And we see theMuslims today rejoicing for their fasts andrecommended acts of obedience that they did, askingtheir Lord to accept their prayers, and to make themamong the 'Utaqaa (the saved from Hell Fire) of thisnoble month.

11

6

13

15

19

21

22

magazine

"You're so goddamned concerned about thecivilians, and I don't give a damn." [to Secretary ofState Henry Kissinger on civilian casualties inVietnam] Richard Milhouse Nixon (1913-94),37th US President, Republican...

Khilafah Magazine December 20024

EditorialKhilafah Magazine · www.khilafah.com · [email protected]

Khilafahmagazine

EditorAsif Khan

Editorial BoardDr Imran WaheedDr Baber QureshiJalaluddin PatelAsim Khan

Sisters EditorialAdvisorsDr Nazreen NawazRuksana RahmanSameena Asghar

No Copyrights

Since Islam rejects copyrights and patents you arefree to reproduce articles contained within thispublication. It is our kind request that when doingso you cite the author and source of the article.

Translation of the Qur’an

It should be perfectly clear that the Qur’an is onlyauthentic in its original language, Arabic. Sinceperfect translation of the Qur’an is impossible, theterm ‘Translation of the Meaning of the Qur’an(TMQ) has been used, as the result is only a crudemeaning of the Arabic text.

Subscription details

Subscription charges:

£20 per annum including postage UK$35 per annum including postage USA

To subscribe to Khilafah magazine please refer to:Internet Site: www.khilafah.comemail: [email protected]

or write to: Khilafah Magazine, Suite 298,56 Gloucester Road, London,SW7 4UB

Published by Al-Khilafah PublicationsSuite 298, 56 Gloucester Road, London, SW7 4UB

Khilafah Magazine is a monthly magazinepublished in London with a wide distributionacross the Muslim and non-Muslim world. Themagazine is dedicated to articulating the case forIslam as an ideology that deals with all humanproblems, whether individual or societal. Islammust be understood ideologically and has adefined political and ruling system – the KhilafahSystem.We maintain that the 'Clash of Civilisations'is not only inevitable but imperative. As theCapitalist ideology dominates the world today, theonly challenge to it must come from Islam.

We write to inform, inspire and create a movementfor true intellectual revival.

News EditorDr Samiul Muquit

Production and PublishingMokbul HussainKosser Mohammed

As-salaam a lai kum wa rahmatullah wabarakatu

On behalf of the editorial team, we send congratulationsto you on the advent of the blessed Eid al-Fitr. We askal-Mawla (The Protector) 'Azza wa Jall to accept theprayers of all the Muslims.

As we leave the blessed month of Ramadan, itsbeautiful days and its fragrant nights. We leave themonth of the Qur'an, taqwa, patience, jihad, mercy,forgiveness and freedom from hellfire. And we see theMuslims today rejoicing for their fasts andrecommended acts of obedience that they did, askingtheir Lord to accept their prayers, and to make themamong the 'Utaqaa (the saved from Hell Fire) of thisnoble month.

On the other hand we have seen the month ofRamadhan, has not meant a let up, on the attack, onIslam and the Muslims. It has manifested itself, in manyforms in all corners of the world. From Australia, whereMuslims are feeling insecure, with arbitrary arrests, tothe war criminal Sharon, continuing his annihilation ofthe Muslims in Palestine and with no stop in sight.

The month of Ramadhan also witnessed the UNSecurity Council passing resolutions, upon Iraq, whichmakes it inevitable that the West, led by the US, willstrike, a vicious war on the Muslims of Iraq. Theactions of the US, clearly show this, with a relentlessbuild-up of her war machinery into the Gulf, with theaid of the treacherous rulers of the region. Even GeorgeBush's top security adviser, Richard Pearle statedclearly, "inspections or not we'll attack Iraq" makingclear the true meaning of the resolution.

We also saw the relentless campaign by the Westernmedia to vilify Islamic beliefs and practices, which hadindirectly led to more than 200 people losing their livesin the Nigerian city of Kaduna. Given the strongfeelings of Muslims towards the 'Miss World beautycontest', the West chose once again to advocatereligious hatred, consistent with its deep hatred ofIslam. A central pillar of this vicious campaign was toattempt to turn the pageant into a protest vote againstthe Sharia death sentence passed on a women who was'convicted' of adultery. Genevieve de Fontenay, head ofthe Miss France committee said it was, "… joining theprotests against Nigeria, which condemns women todeath for adultery. These sentences are barbaric andunacceptable"

These events show, the inherent insecurity, of theCapitalist system, where even its core ideals, areabandoned when it comes to Muslims. In fact, it shows,that these concepts are nothing but an illusion, to coverit's inherent decadence.

In the coming month, we shall witness, the propagandawar, continue. The West is desperate to launch it attackson the Muslims of Iraq. On 2nd December 2002, theUK government launched a dossier of human rightsabuses allegedly perpetrated by the Iraqi regime,including torture and rape. It has come to show, the evilof Saddam Hussein, according to the Britishgovernment.

The dossier attempted to argue that the West'smotivation in attacking Iraq will be to protect the rightsof the Iraqi people. In fact the West headed by America

and Britain have through their bombing of power plantsand support for sanctions caused the deaths of hundredsof thousands of Iraqi civilians.

The rights of the people of Iraq will not be safeguardedby bombing them and installing a subservient puppetwho is sure to suppress the call for Islam and the call forKhilafah by the pretext of extremism. Foreign secretaryJack Straw, alluded their attempt to resist the call forIslam when he spoke about his vision for Iraq in aspeech entitled, 'Role of the free press in foreign policy'on 26th November 2002 at the Annual awardsceremony of the Foreign Press Association. He said,"We will be seeking to address the Iraqi peopledirectly…And we will continue to resist those voiceswhich seek to portray our stance as anti-Muslim". IfStraw truly wanted to achieve this why doesn't he andhis government stop their build up for war on Iraq,desist from their interference in the Islamic lands andchallenge America and its global hegemony?

Our dear Muslims. The One, who enjoined upon youthe pious acts in Ramadhan and you responded to Hiscall, He is the same One who has obliged, you not torefer to Capitalism and the West for solutions. SeekingWestern intervention, participation in Westerngovernments, UN resolutions, and the like are allWestern solutions that must be rejected. He is the Onewho has obliged you to challenge these alien concepts,of integration, and assimilation. Our responsibilitytoday is to show Islam as a clear ideological alternativeto Capitalism, not only in word, but also in deed.

The Muslims in Britain must stand shoulder to shoulderwith the Islamic Ummah. It is a necessity to resist theWestern campaign by speaking out against it.Furthermore, the Muslims have got to show the Islamicideology as the alternative to Capitalism. Today theworld is plagued by an ideology that causes corruptionaround the world, squanders the worlds resources, andestablishes man as the law-provider.

The true solution for the problem of Iraq, and all theproblems that plague the Muslim world at the hands ofthe Western crusaders is the re-establishment of theKhilafah Rashida. A strong ideological state, that bringsIslam back to the affairs of life, protects the Muslims,and challenge western hegemony the world over.

He (swt) said:

'O you who believe! Answer Allah and His Messengerwhen he (the Messenger) calls you to that which willgive you life, and know that Allah comes in between aperson and his heart. And verily to Him you shall (all)be gathered. And fear the fitna (affliction, trial) whichaffects not in particular (only) those of you who dowrong, and know that Allah is Severe in punishment.'[TMQ Al-Anfal: 24-25]

Asif Khan


Reference

"The Prince who contributes to theadvancement of another state ruins hisown….A Prince ought never to take theside of a neighbouring state more powerfulthan himself, because even if he isvictorious he is at the mercy of hisneighbours." 'TThhee PPrriinnccee''.. NNiiccccoolloo MMaacchhiiaavveellllii

"Annual subsidies and subventions are atime honoured means of assuring loyalty ofclient states….On the whole, regularallotments of aid are less effective thanoccasional gifts at moments of special needor to recognise and reciprocate notablyhelpful acts by those on whom theyconform." ''TThhee DDiipplloommaatt''ss DDiiccttiioonnaarryy'' bbyy CChhaarrlleess WW..FFrreeeemmaann ((EEddiittoorr)),, CChhaass.. WW..,, JJrr FFrreeeemmaann

"The United States has signed a $3bn debtforgiveness deal with Pakistan. The signingbrings Pakistan a step closer towardswinning the cancellation of a further $1bnof debts to the US. Pakistan's governmentoffered vital support to the US-ledcoalition's war against terrorism during thewar to remove the Taleban governmentfrom neighbouring Afghanistan."nneewwss..bbbbcc..ccoo..uukk FFrriiddaayy,, 2233 AAuugguusstt,, 22000022..

"The illegal we do immediately. Theunconstitutional takes a little longer."HHeennrryy AAllffrreedd KKiissssiinnggeerr ((bb.. 11992233)),, FFoorrmmeerrUUSS sseeccrreettaarryy ooff ssttaattee,, hheeaadd ooff aa nneewwiinnddeeppeennddeenntt ccoommmmiissssiioonn ttoo iinnvveessttiiggaattee tthhee1111tthh SSeepptteemmbbeerr aattttaacckkss..

"You're so goddamned concerned aboutthe civilians, and I don't give a damn." [toSecretary of State Henry Kissinger oncivilian casualties in Vietnam]RRiicchhaarrdd MMiillhhoouussee NNiixxoonn ((11991133--9944)),, 3377tthhUUSS PPrreessiiddeenntt,, RReeppuubblliiccaann..

"I am strongly in favour of using poisonedgas against uncivilised tribes [Muslim Kurdsof Iraq]… It is not necessary to use onlythe most deadly gases; gases can be usedwhich would cause great inconvenience andwould spread a lively terror and yet wouldleave no serious permanent effects on mostof those affected......We cannot, in anycircumstances acquiesce to the non-utilisation of any weapons which areavailable to procure a speedy terminationof the disorder which prevails on thefrontier."SSiirr WWiinnssttoonn LLeeoonnaarrdd SSppeennsseerr CChhuurrcchhiillll((11887744--11996655)),, BBrriittiisshh ssttaatteessmmaann,, pprriimmeemmiinniisstteerr.. TThhee BBrriittiisshh PPuubblliicc RReeccoorrddssOOffffiiccee,, rreelleeaasseedd tthhee ssttaatteemmeenntt,, oonn JJaannuuaarryy22nndd 11999977,, aass rreeppoorrtteedd iinn tthhee DDaaiillyyTTeelleeggrraapphh ((33//11//9977))..

"I'd rather use the nuclear bomb...Doesthat bother you? I just want you to thinkbig, Henry, for Christ's sake." [to Secretaryof State Henry Kissinger on escalating theVietnam War]RRiicchhaarrdd MMiillhhoouussee NNiixxoonn ((11991133--9944)),, 3377tthhUUSS PPrreessiiddeenntt,, RReeppuubblliiccaann..

"No foreign policy-no matter howingenious-has any chance of success if it isborn in the minds of a few and carried inthe hearts of none."HHeennrryy AAllffrreedd KKiissssiinnggeerr ((bb.. 11992233)),, GGeerrmmaann--bboorrnn AAmmeerriiccaann RReeppuubblliiccaann ddiipplloommaatt,,SSeeccrreettaarryy ooff SSttaattee,, NNoobbeell wwiinnnneerr..

"Men occasionally stumble on the truth,but most of them pick themselves up andhurry off as if nothing had happened."SSiirr WWiinnssttoonn CChhuurrcchhiillll ((11887744--11996655)),,BBrriittiisshh ssttaatteessmmaann,, pprriimmee mmiinniisstteerr,, aauutthhoorr..

"A lie gets halfway around the world beforethe truth has a chance to get its pants on."SSiirr WWiinnssttoonn CChhuurrcchhiillll ((11887744--11996655)),,BBrriittiisshh ssttaatteessmmaann,, pprriimmee mmiinniisstteerr..

"For injuries ought to be done all at onetime, so that, being tasted less, they offendless; benefits ought to be given little bylittle, so that the flavour of them may lastlonger." 'TThhee PPrriinnccee''.. NNiiccccoolloo MMaacchhiiaavveellllii..

"The first casualty, when war comes, istruth." SSeennaattoorr HHiirraamm JJoohhnnssoonn,, WWoorrlldd WWaarr II..

"We are learning to do what the Britishused to do so well- Lie." UU..SS.. IInntteelllliiggeennccee OOffffiicceerr,, NNoovveemmbbeerr 22000011

"…a letter that was sent to the President ofthe United Nations … in accordance with…, the charter that always give the nationsa right to self-defense. That's acommunication required at the time of anation like the United States acted in itsself-defense….The letter states what thePresident has been saying very publicly allalong, that the United States reserves theright to defend itself wherever it isnecessary." AArrii FFlleeiicchheerr UUSS WWhhiittee hhoouussee SSppookkeessmmaannOOccttoobbeerr 88,, 22000011..

"Israel entered the West Bank only after itscities and airports had come under heavyfire. Israeli actions were legal - resultingfrom a clear-cut war of self-defence." AArriieell SShhaarroonn..

"Aggressors usually guise their aggressionas self defence" EEVV TTaarrllee 11995599 ''TThhee DDiipplloommaatt''ss DDiiccttiioonnaarryy''bbyy CChhaarrlleess WW.. FFrreeeemmaann ((EEddiittoorr)),, CChhaass.. WW..,,JJrr FFrreeeemmaann..

Quotes

News


From Around The World

RRoonnaalldd aanndd FFrriieennddss oonn TTrriiaall

Following lawsuits in which cancerstricken smokers sued the tobaccoindustry, a similar one comes alongwhere obese teens are suingMcDonalds. The teens allege thatMcDonalds mislead them intobelieving that the restaurant serveshealthy food, and this has caused themto become diabetic, suffer from highblood pressure, and/or become obese.These "serious issues" may causebillions of dollars worth of lawsuitsaround the country in a patheticlitigation frenzy. It would definitelymean trouble for the entire fast-foodindustry if the McDonalds giant isfound guilty of consumer fraud. BurgerKing, Wendy's and Kentucky FriedChicken would be soon to follow. In anation where over half the adultpopulation is overweight, PresidentGeorge W Bush is imploringAmericans to live a healthier life style.

It is only through the extravagantnature of Capitalism, that one wouldfind a judicial system so obsessed bybenefit that citizens and organizationsturn on one another; not in the pursuitof justice, but profit. It is hard tobelieve, that in this day and age, theconsumer, no matter how young, wouldthink that eating burgers and fries everyday would help one achieve a wellbalanced diet. What is more obvious isthat the Capitalist culture has instilledthe benefit mentality, whereby onecould achieve material gain by blamingothers. America indeed is plagued withobesity. Over thirteen million of itscitizens are overweight. If all of themdecided to sue someone for theirinadequacies, the country's economywould fall apart. It is certainly fareasier to blame the foodservicesindustry than one's self, despite the factthat, in this case, the plaintiffs are allsuing for the results of their ownindulgences. The Islamic system, incontrast, breeds a society whose solepursuit is the pleasure of Allah (swt);and thus, it is a just system.

Hani Jamaluddin

NNoott iinn tthhee BBeesstt IInntteerreesstt

The Islamic theological researchcommittee of Egypt's Al-Azharinstitute has voted 21-1 to approvefixed interest rates.

Most banks even in Egypt already dealin interest though and so the Al-Azharcommittee gave its approval to it,

giving pragmatic arguments like "it isillogical to remain frozen while theworld changes around us." Thuskeeping Islam in line with Capitalism.Riba (interest) concentrates the wealthinto the hands of the few, adding to theproblem of increasing the dividebetween the rich and the poor. This isevident in every economy where ribaexists and has existed. The Islamicevidences prohibiting riba arenumerous, clear and well known, butthey have still been ignored by the Al-Azhar committee. Even the ill effectsof riba on the country and society havebeen ignored.

Recently the economies of Argentinaand Brazil have reached near collapsedue to the interest bearing loans fromthe IMF. Likewise other nationaleconomies in Africa have beendevoured by debt crises. Furthermoreeven the people of rich westernsocieties have been burdened byindividual debt crises. In the UK, forexample, citizen advice agencies claimthat they deal with over £1Billionworth of new cases of debt problems ayear. All of these debt crises have beenexacerbated by the riba which is alwaysincluded in the debt.

The ill effects of riba are clear to all andin the delicate economies of theMuslim world have even been felt byall. Mohammed (saw) said:

"The believer does not allow himselfto be stung twice from one (and thesame) hole." [Sahih Muslim].

In the absence of restriction of the Stateto the implementation of the Shari'ahand true Islamic Economics the currentMuslim governments are likely toallow any activity that keeps them inline with the western states regardlessof the Shari'ah rules or the ill effectsthese activities have.

Asim Khan

NNAATTOO PPrraagguuee SSuummmmiitt-- rreeiinnffoorrcciinnggWWaarr oonn IIssllaammThe leaders of the western world met inPrague to expand NATO into some ofthe East and Central European (formerCommunist) countries includingEstonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia,Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania. Thisexpansion will take effect in 2004 andthere is plan for the establishment of aNATO Response Force (NRF)consisting of 21,000 military personnelwith latest hi-tech weaponry and will

be ready for deployment at short noticeanywhere in the globe.

Although these countries individuallyare small with tiny military capabilities,it is clear that the reason for theaccession of these countries to NATO istheir strategic location and somemilitary skills that can enhance NATOcapabilities. For example, the size ofthe Bulgarian armed force is a mere77,300 and Slovakia has 33,000 withannual defence expenditure of $365mand $386m respectively. However,Bulgaria offers NATO bases close toKosovo, Black Sea ports and providesaccess to states in Central Asia. Itsexpertise is in de-contamination.Slovakia has expertise in bombdisposal and air defence.

Nevertheless, a deeper peek into thewhole scenario shows that this newmove is a further endeavour to assistthe West in its so called "War onTerror" which is in reality a War onIslam; besides the effort by Europe toprevent US unilateralist stance onglobal issues, so that they can share thebooty in whichever land Americaconquers. Indeed the words ofPresident Bush show this clearly: "Theenemy is not Russia - the enemy isglobal terrorists who hate freedom andtogether we can work to defeat thatenemy in the name of freedom".

NATO Secretary General, LordRobertson declared to the NATOParliamentary Assembly: "Thesestrategic benefits are too important tobe left in limbo ... At Prague, NATOwill unveil a major package ofmeasures to combat terrorism ... thestrategic significance of this move canhardly be underestimated."

Thus it is clear that the West isembarking upon destroying theexistence of political Islam, so thatCapitalism can maintain its hegemonyglobally.

Allah (swt) says:

"Verily those who disbelieve spendtheir wealth to hinder (men) from theway of Allah and so they will continueto spread it, but in the end will becomean anguish for them. They will beovercome and those disbelievers will begathered in Hell." [TMQ Al-Anfal: 36]

Wakil Ahmed

TThhee BBeeggggaarrss CChhooiiccee

Several Middle Eastern states havemoved closer to embracingprivatisation schemes in order to shoreup their finances. Saudi Arabia'sfinance minister, Ibrahim al-Assaf,announced plans to privatise 20 sectorsincluding telecoms, railways, healthservices and hotels. Qatar's SheikhHamad announced that it would sell offpart of its petrochemical sector, as wellas some metallurgy and fertiliserindustries. Also the LebaneseGovernment said it forecast revenuesof $1bn from state sales during 2004and 2005. The bulk of the money willcome from telecoms and electricityfirms, with preparations also underwayfor the sale of Beirut airport and theseaports.

It is hoped that the privatisation of statefirms will attract more foreigninvestment into the region. Both SaudiArabia and Lebanon are struggling toreduce public debt and controlwidening budget deficits, it is hopedthat the revenue generated will help tobalance their budgets.

Last month, a leaked report from theInternational Monetary Fund urgedSaudi Arabia to set a timetable forprivatisations or face economicstagnation. The UN's latest Arab humandevelopment report suggested that realper capita income between 1975 and1998 grew at just 0.5%.

What one can observe from these latestevents is that the vast material wealthenjoyed by these Arab states has not

News


From Around The World

helped in easing their economic plight.

It is never the material resources of anation that make it progress but ratherthe intellectual wealth (ideology),which would give it a productive wayof thinking, that would in turn allow itto progress materially.

However, as we can see from the casesstated, should a nation lack thisintellectual wealth (ideology), thenwhat will eventually happen is that hermaterial wealth will slowly disappearas she will be unable to devise newways of regenerating it.

It was this lack of resources andintellectual wealth (ideology) thatmade the Arabs the most undesirableconquest to the Romans and Persians inpre-Islamic Arabia. But with thediscovery of resources they havebecome the most prized conquest forthe US and other Capitalists. It was theintellect driven by Islam thattransformed these very desert folk intothe most powerful nation the world hadever seen and allowed the securing ofMuslims' interests. And it is in theabsence of the Islamic Ideology thattheir exploitation has become possible.

Mohammed Ashifuddin

BBaannggllaaddeesshh''ss ccrriimmiinnaall jjuussttiiccee rreeffoorrmmss

The recent mass arrest of thousands inBangladesh followed the UnitedNations request to reform Bangladesh'scriminal justice system. Thegovernment of Bangladesh hastilyacted to implement reforms bydeploying 40,000 army troops andarresting people suspected of politicalcriminal links, in a crackdowncodenamed Operation Clean Heart,which commenced in mid October2002. But is the problem of Bangladeshthe criminal justice system or is theproblem deeper rooted? The political,economic and social systems are allcorrupt. So why is Bangladesh notrequested to reform any of thesesystems?

The political system is democratic. It iscorrupt from its very basis. Politicalparties vie for seats and each term inpower appears to be simply anopportunity to attack the opposition.Recurrent general strikes, corruptionand politically motivated violencebring to disrepute the national politicalparties.

The economic system is crippled by

debt to the IMF and World Bank, whichhas escalated over time. Loans comewith strings attached, e.g. withdemands for trade liberalisation,privatisation of national industries andother policies detrimental to thenational economy. Free market policieslead to multinational companydomination, preventing thedevelopment of domestic industries.These policies all have disastrous long-term consequences as other nationshave discovered.

The social system has beendeteriorating in recent years. Crime hassoared 10% over a year; drug use,prostitution, vandalism, illegitimatechildren and HIV/AIDS infections thatare characteristic of western nationshave all been increasing.

The answer to the introductoryquestion of UN involvement is that theUN is avoiding the real problemswhich are the economic and politicalsystems. The status quo of thesesystems ensures the exploitation of thecountry, whilst enforcement of law andorder prevents opposition todetrimental government policies. Beinga tool of the capitalist nations, the UNacts only to secure Western interestsglobally by allowing Western powers toexploit the resources of other nations.Muslims need to address theirproblems independently withoutforeign interference. They should beginby questioning the basis of theirsociety, abandoning the contradictoryideas that flourish in secularism, andrebuild a correct society based onIslam.

Suhel Ahmed

MMiissss WWoorrlldd

In the 70's and up till the 80's the MissWorld contest used to be broadcast onprimetime television and it was only afew feminists that thought it portrayedwomen as "dumb blondes". No sizeablemajority of the public had a problemwith women being lined up inswimming costumes and given marksout of ten. This great beauty pageanthas given women role models such asPamela Bordes and Ashwari Rai;

without a doubt they have achievedfame based on their physicalappearance and nothing else.

People in the west now view thiscontest with disdain; however theypoint out that if women choose todisplay their bodies to gain fame andfortune then it is their right to do so.Others just think it's a bit of harmlessfun and cannot understand what all thefuss is about.

The Muslims of Nigeria like the rest ofthe Ummah could clearly see that thiscontest was being used to attack Islam.To begin with Shari'ah law of stoningthe adulteress was roundly condemnedas being barbaric and then a journalistwas allowed to publish an insultingarticle about the Prophet Muhammad(saw).

The Miss World Contest like all theother "World Contests" orchestrated bythe west such as the Oscars, Olympicsetc project very clear messages to theworld. In the case of Miss World it isthe western view of women, beauty andtheir so called freedom. The Oscarsemphasizes the idea that the Americanway of life is the best and should beaspired to by the rest of the world.While the Olympics upholds the dualideas of nationalism and patriotismeven when it comes to sports.

If our leaders had an ounce of Islamicsentiment they would boycott theseevents and expose the real motivesbehind them. They would not allow thehonour of the Ummah to be paradedaround like cattle at a meat market. Letalone waste the Ummah's wealth onbidding to host such events.

Farhat Amin

FFoorrmmeerr IIttaalliiaann PPMM ccoonnvviicctteedd ooffmmuurrddeerr

An Italian appeals court found formerItalian PM, Giulio Andreotti, guilty ofmurder in the trial of the 1979 killing ofa journalist. Andreotti, who is 83 yearsold, was sentenced to 24 yearsimprisonment, but had previously been

cleared by a lower court three yearsago. Prosecutors successfully argued,that the Mafia killed journalist MinoPecorelli on Andreotti's orders, becausehe was about to publish damagingrevelations about Andreotti.

Andreotti, who served seven times asItalian prime minister between 1972and 1992, had denied the chargessaying they were politically motivated.Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, who iscurrently facing inquiries relating to hisbusiness empire, led the chorus ofprotest against the guilty verdict,calling it "mad justice".

The verdict is all the more shocking toItaly's political elite because it relies onthe word of a now-dead Mafia informerand because the gunmen themselveshave not been convicted. But in anycase, Italian law does not allow thejailing of anyone over 75.

Can anyone be sure that justice hasbeen served? How can society becontent with the fact that, if guilty,Andreotti will serve no punishment forhis crime? The western capitalistsystem is dominated by personal greedthat lends to bias and corruption. Noone is interested in arriving at the truth,but more about the gains that can bemade. How is it possible that one courtfinds the defendant not guilty, yetanother court, being presented with thesame evidence, can find the same manguilty?

The western justice system is clearlyflawed. It has seen countlessmiscarriages of justice that aredependant on circumstantial evidenceand the Judges mood, affiliation andbias.

The judicial system in Islam is notsubject to the whims and desires ofman, but has checks and balances toensure that justice is delivered.Evidence presented in court has to bedecisive.

Samina Asghar


We are in the "festive season" according to theWest. It is a season where the people aresupposed to be jolly. But for many it is a

period of despair, as we find more and more get intodebt, trying to fulfil the dream of there loved ones.Festivals are an important events used by the Capitaliststates. It is first and foremost big business for them.They are used to increase revenue for the exchequer, asmany things are marketed, and sold. Festivals, increasespending, and produce a consumer bonanza. GordonBrown, rubs his hands during these periods, becausepeople, spend and spend during them. On average,£7,600 per second will be spent on credit and debitcards alone during Christmas.

Festivals and Capitalism: Consumer Bonanza

The love of festivals in the West, goes further, to theextent they have invented more and more festivals tocelebrate. There is Guy Fawkes night, Halloween,Thanksgiving Day, Easter, Christmas, New Years day,Valentines day, Fathers day, Mothers day etc. It is clearthe motivation is not religious devotion, as many of thefestivals are based on pagan rituals of the past. But aperiod to make money, and a means to assimilatevarious cultures into the mosaic of society. With each ofthese festivals accessories come along with them, suchas the Easter Bunny, or Santa Claus who is a Capitalistinvention. There was a St. Nicholas long ago and aholiday connected with him (on December 5). In 1822,an American named Clement Clarke Moore wrote apoem about a visit from St. Nicholas. It was Moore (anda few other New Yorkers) who invented St. Nicholasphysical appearance and personality, came up with theidea that Santa travels on Christmas Eve in a sleighpulled by reindeer, comes down the chimney, stuffstoys in the kids stockings, then goes back to the NorthPole.

Escapism from the Misery of Capitalism

Moreover, holidays, such as the New Years are filledwith corruption and debauchery. This is positivelyencouraged. It is a time for personal freedoms, to be letloose. Such occasions, where sins are committed andliquor is served, have become avenues to commit actsof Fisq (disobedience). It is well known, what occurs, inChristmas parties, and New Years eve parties and it isan accepted fact that adultery and fornication occurs

during them. The media uses its creativity to corrupt thetendencies and morals of the people by spreadingcorrupt programs that contain nothing but sleaze inorder to eliminate any sign of purity and morality.

The reason is clear, it is an outlet, it is a preoccupationfor people to drown themselves. For the periods thatthese festivals last, so for Christmas, nearly a month,people become anaesthetised with desire for theinconsequential, materialism and greed. People forgetabout the striking fireman, the war on terrorism andtheir own jobs may be on the line soon, and therefamilies and start to say 'well it is Christmas' and 'whatwould it be if it wasn't for the children', etc.

At the same time the children have discovered thathumans have developed new basic need besides oxygenand water etc., Sega and Nintendo, and the X-Box.High pressure advertising is aimed at the children fromall angles. It is little wonder the children of todaydevelop an affinity for materialistic values rather thanthe Islamic values.

A means to integrate

More worrying, and a more sinister point, in celebratingthe Christian holidays, such as Christmas and theChristian new year, is that it is part of the Westernculture that is imposed on the Muslims especially in theWest. In imposing such culture, the West intends for theMuslims to accept and recognize the Christian rituals,and believe in the equality of Christianity with Islam.This has now increased not just to using Christianity,but to other religions, including Judaism, andHinduism. Thus in schools, Muslim children areencouraged to partake in nativity plays, depicting thebirth of Jesus, and carol renditions. When it is time forthe Hindu Festivals, such as Diwali, again, the Muslimsare encouraged to participate. The aim of this is thatthey wish to relegate Islam to a religion, likeChristianity, and it's implications, that Islam, like theother religions, can be a part of the Capitalist jigsaw.George Bush, in his Eid speech to the Muslimsportrayed this saying that the origins Islam areAbrahamic, like Judaism, and Christianity; " Islamtraces its origins back to God's call on Abraham."

What is Eid?

"Eid" is an Arabic word referring to something habitual,that returns and is repeated. Eids or festivals aresymbols to be found in every nation, including thosethat are based on revealed scriptures and those that areidolatrous, as well as others, because celebratingfestivals is something that is an instinctive part ofhuman nature. All people like to have special occasionsto celebrate, where they can come together and expresstheir joy and happiness.

Allah (swt) has distinguished and honoured the MuslimUmmah by Islam. He (swt) made Islam her way of life,the source of her unique concepts and rules, and acomprehensive and complete system for all of her life'saffairs

"You are indeed the best of nations out to mankind: Youcommand good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah."[TMQ Ale-Imran: 110]

Forbidden to celebrate holidays of Kuffar.

Celebrating the holidays and the occasions of theKuffar is certainly Haram. As Muslims we are notpermitted to do it since it is an imitation of the Kuffar.

Imitating the Kuffar in any of their religious affairs orin any gesture that distinguishes them as groups isforbidden. Al-Bukhari narrated in his Sahih (book) thatAbu Saeed Al-Khudri (ra) reported that Allah'sMessenger (saw) said:

"You will indeed follow the ways of those before you,hand span by hand span, and an arms length afteranother. Even if they enter into a lizards hole, youwill follow them. We asked, is it the Jews and theChristians? He (saws) replied, Who else!"

FESTIVALS ANDCELEBRATING EID


The reason why it is mandoob (recommended) to take abath before Friday prayer and other public gatheringsalso applies in the case of Eid, by greater reason.

Looking one's best for Eid

Abdallah ibn 'Umar (ra) said: "Umar picked up a jubbah(long outer garment) made of silk that was for sale inthe market, brought it to the Messenger of Allah (saw)and said, 'O Messenger of Allah, buy this and wear it forEid and when the delegations come.' The Messenger ofAllah (saw) said, 'This is the clothing of the one whohas no share of the Hereafter…'" (Reported by al-Bukhaari, 948).

The Prophet (saw) approved of 'Umar's idea of lookingone's best, but he rejected and denounced the idea ofbuying this jubbah because it was made of silk. Jaabir(ra) said: "The Prophet (saw) had a jubbah that hewould wear on Eid and on Fridays." (Saheeh IbnKhuzaymah, 1765).

Al-Bayhaqi reported that Ibn Umar used to wear hisbest clothes on Eid, so men should wear the best clothesthey have when they go out for Eid.

Eating before coming out

One should not come out to the prayer-place on Eid al-Fitr before eating some dates, because of the hadithnarrated by al-Bukhaari from Anas ibn Maalik whosaid:

"The Messenger of Allah (swt) (saw) would not go outon the morning of Eid al-Fitr until he had eaten somedates… and he would eat an odd number." (al-Bukhaari, 953)

It is mandoob (recommended) to eat before coming outbecause this confirms that we are not allowed to fast onthis day, and demonstrates that the fast is now over. IbnHajar (ra) explained that this is to prevent peopleextending the fast and it also means obeying thecommandment of Allah (swt). (Fath al Bari, 2/446). If aperson does not have any dates, he can eat anythingpermissible for breakfast. On Eid al-Adhaa, on theother hand, it is mandoob (recommended) not to eatuntil after the prayer, when one should eat from themeat of one's sacrifice.

To go out one by one route and come back byanother

Jaabir ibn 'Abd-Allah (swt) (ra) reported that theProphet (saw) used to vary his routes on the day of Eid.(Reported by al-Bukhaari, 986)

Takbeer on the day of Eid

This is one of the greatest sunnahs of this day, becauseof the words of Allah (swt)

"… (He [Allah (swt)] wants that you) must complete thesame number (of days), and that you must magnifyAllah (say Takbeer - 'Allah u akbar') for having guidedyou so that you may be grateful to Him." [TMQ Al-Baqarah:185]

Al-Waleed ibn Muslim said: "I asked al-Auzaa'i andMalik ibn Anas about saying Takbeer aloud on Eid.They said, 'Yes, 'Abdallah ibn 'Umar used to say italoud on the day of Fitr until the imaam came out.'"

Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan al-Salami said: "On Eid al-Fitrthey would say it louder than on Eid al-Adhaa." Wakee'said, "i.e., the takbeer." (Irwaa', 3/122).

The practice of making Takbeer from home to theprayer-place, and until the imaam comes in, was well-known. An example of this is the report that Naafi' ibnJubayr used to make Takbeer and wondered why peopledid not do so. He would say to people, "Why do you notmake Takbeer?" Ibn Shihaab al-Zuhri said, "The peopleused to make Takbeer from the time they left theirhomes until the imaam came in."

The time for making Takbeer on Eid al-Fitr starts fromthe night of Eid until the time when the imaam comesin to lead the prayer.

The wording of the Takbeer

Ibn Abi Shaybah reported in al-Musannaf that IbnMas'ood (ra) used to say Takbeer on the days ofTashreeq as follows:

"Allah u akbar, Allah u akbar, laa ilaaha ill-Allah, waAllah u akbar, Allah u akbar wa Lillaahi'l-hamd(Allah is Most Great… there is no god but Allah , Allahis Most Great, and to Allah be praise)."

Al-Muhaamili also reported that Ibn Mas'ood used tosay: "Allah u akbaru kabeeran, Allah u akbarukabeeran, Allah u akbar wa ajall, Allah u akbar waLillaahi'l-hamd (Allah is Most Great of All, Allah isMost Great of all, Allah is most Great and MostGlorious, and to Allah be praise)." (al-Irwaa ', 3/126).

This hadith condemns imitating them. It is a proof forthe prohibitions of imitating the Jews and the Christiansin their occasions, symbols, or any matter related totheir belief.

Furthermore, there are many Islamic evidences thatforbid the Muslims from having holidays other thanEid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adhaa. Al-Bayhaqi reported inhis Sunan that Anas Bin Malik (ra) said: When theProphet (saw) came to Medina, the people had twoholidays from the days of Jahiliyyah.

He (saw) said:

"When I came to you, you had two days which youused to celebrate in Jahiliyyah. Allah (swt) hasreplaced them for you with better days, the days ofslaughter (Adhaa) and the day of fitr."

Also Imam Ahmad in his Musnad reported that Uqbahbin Amir (raa) reported the Prophet (saw) to have said:

"The day of Fitr and days of Tashriq are ourholidays, the people of Islam."

These evidences are clear in forbidding the Muslims tohave any Eid other than what Allah (swt) prescribed forthem. Thus, they are not allowed to participate in orcelebrate the holidays of the Kuffar. nor are theyallowed to attend them, even if invited. This will protectMuslims, from the Kufur influences, and thereimplications.

How do Muslims celebrate Eid

These two Eids are among the signs or symbols of Allah(swt) which we must celebrate and understand the aimsand meanings behind them. Inshallah what follows is abrief discussion of some of the rulings and manners ofthe two Eid according to Islamic rules.

Ghusl (taking a bath)

One of the manners of Eid is to take a bath before goingout to the prayer. It is reported in a saheeh report in al-Muwatta' and elsewhere that 'Abd-Allah (swt) ibn'Umar used to take a bath on the day of al-Fitr beforecoming to the prayer-place. (al-Muwatta' 428)

It was reported that Sa'eed ibn Jubayr said:

"Three things are sunnah on Eid: to walk (to the prayer-place), to take a bath and to eat before coming out.".

Al-Nawawi (ra) mentioned that the scholars wereagreed that it is mandoob (recommended) to take a bathbefore the Eid prayer.

Fasting is haram on the day of Eid

It is haraam to fast on the days of Eid because of thehadith of Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (ra), who said that theMessenger of Allah (swt) (saw) forbade fasting on theday of Fitr and the day of Sacrifice (Adhaa). (Reportedby Muslim, 827)

Ruling on the Eid prayers

The Eid prayer is sunnah mu'akkadah. It was narratedfrom Abu Hurayra (ra) "that rain fell down on them onthe day of Eid so the Prophet (saw) prayed the prayer ofEid with them in the mosque" This and the hadith of theBedouin which says that Allah has not imposed anyprayers on His slaves other than the five daily prayers.So the Muslim should be keen to attend Eid prayers.The goodness, blessings and great reward one gets fromattending Eid prayers, and the fact that one is followingthe example of the Prophet (saw) by doing so, should besufficient motivation.

Timing of Eid prayer and place

The time of the Eid prayer is what is in the periodbetween the rising of the sun until it reaches noon. It iswithout Adhan or Iqamah due to what was narratedfrom Jabir bin Samura (ra) who said:

"I attended Eid with the Prophet (saw) not once or twicewithout Adhan or Iqamah."

The Eid prayer is before the khutba due to what wasnarrated from ibn 'Umar (ra) who said:

“Rasoolallah (saw), Abu Bakr and 'Umar would praythe two Eids before the khutba.”

The Sunnah is to pray the Eid prayer in a place ofprayer which is not a mosque (musalla) if the mosqueof the town is narrow/cramped due to what wasnarrated "that the Prophet (saw) would go out to themusalla."

Description of the Eid prayer

Umar (ra) said: "The prayer of Eid and al-Adhaa is twocomplete rak'ahs, not shortened. This is according tothe words of your Prophet, and the liar is doomed."

Abu Sa'eed said:

"The Messenger of Allah (saw) used to come out to theprayer-place on the day of Fitr and al-Adhaa, and thefirst thing he would do was the prayer."

The Takbeer is repeated seven times in the first rak'ahand five times in the second, the Qur'an is to be recitedafter each.

It was reported from 'Aa'ishah:

the Takbeer of al-Fitr and al-Adhaa is seven in the firstrak'ah and five in the second, apart from the takbeer ofrukoo' . (Reported by Abu Dawood; saheeh by the sumof its isnaads)

Naafil prayers in the prayer-place

There are no naafil prayers to be done either before orafter the Eid prayer, as Ibn 'Abbaas reported that theProphet (saw) used to come out on the day of Eid andpray two rak'ahs, with nothing before or after them.

Congratulating one another

People may exchange congratulations and goodgreetings on Eid, no matter what form the words take.For example they may say to one another, "TaqabbalAllah u minnaa wa minkum (May Allah (swt) accept[the fast and worship] from us and from you) or "Eidmubarak" and other similar permissible greetings.

Jubayr ibn Nufayr said:

"At the time of the Prophet (saw), when people met oneanother on the day of Eid, they would say, 'TaqabbalAllah u minnaa wa minka (May Allah (swt) acceptfrom us and from you).'" (Ibn Hajar. Its isnaad is hasan.Fath, 2/446).

It was also reported that the Prophet (saw) used to goout walking, and he prayed without any adhaan oriqaamah, then he would come back walking by adifferent route. It was said that this was so that the twodifferent routes would testify in his favour on the Dayof Resurrection, because on that Day the earth willspeak about everything that was done on it, good andevil.

It was also said that this was done in order todemonstrate the symbols and rituals of Islam along bothroutes; to pronounce the remembrance of Allah (swt);to annoy the hypocrites and yahood and to scare themby the number of people who were with him; to meetthe people's needs by teaching them and setting an


example for them to follow; to give charity to those inneed; or to visit his relatives and uphold the ties ofkinship.

So the Eid, for Muslims is a means to maintain familyties, a means to remember the Muslims, as a whole, ameans to maintain the Islamic identity, by constantlydoing actions during the whole of this day, which are inaccordance with Islam.

Since the abolishment of Islam, from life, as a rulingsystem, the state of the Ummah has been declining fromone bad stage to a worse one. The Ummah is beingruled by Kufr laws, dominated by Kufr concepts,invaded by the West with its corrupt culture andrepugnant promiscuity, and as a result, it has corruptedthe Ummah's Deen, ethics and future generations. TheWestern beacons, symbols, concepts, and occasionshave become those of the Ummah. The West has beenaided by the rulers of the Muslims who have devotedthemselves to keeping Islam away from life, to fightingoff it's thoughts and concepts, thus moulding theUmmah's to the West's desire.

The Ummah must establish the Khilafah in order toremove the injustice and corruption which has resultedin the loss of the identity and glory of the Muslims.Moreover, it has made them victims of the Kuffar andtheir agents, who implement the laws of Kufr whichcontradict with the Aqeedah and the Deen of theMuslims.

Allah's Messenger (saw) said,

"Verily the Imam is a shield; you (the MuslimsUmmah) fight from behind him and protectyourselves with him."

In the West, the thoughts and sentiments of the childrenof the Ummah are still being moulded in accordancewith the corrupt Western values. Unless, we presentIslam in a correct manner, and show the uniqueness ofIslam distinct from other religions and ideologies, itwill continue. We need to build a framework, whichshows to the Muslims, the Capitalists objective incelebrating festivals, is in accordance with therecorrupted way of life. We need to be aware of thecorrect manner we celebrate Eid. We need to explain toour children, the uniqueness of Islam, as an ideology.

Asif Khan


Qatadah said : the Messenger of Allah, (saw),said:

"Fasting on the day of Àrafah is an expiation[of sins] for two years, the year preceding it andthe year following it and the fasting the day ofÀashuraa' [10th of Muharram] is an expiationfor the year preceding it."[Muslim, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Abu Dawood].

Furthermore, Abu Dharr Al-Ghifaari said: "TheMessenger of Allah (saw), said

"Whoever fasts from every month three days, itis like fasting the whole year, then Allahrevealed what backs this in His book "Whoevercomes with a good deed, he is rewarded tenfolds", one day for ten." [Ibn Majah and at-Tirmithi].

And Abu Dharr Al-Ghifaari said: "The Messengerof Allah (saw), said:

"O Abu Dharr! if you fast three days of everymonth, then fast the 13th, the 14th and the 15th[these are call the al-ayaam al-beedh, the whitedays]". [Note these are dates of the IslamicMonth!] [Ahmad, an-Nasaa'i and at-Tirmithi;Sahih]

These ahadith clearly show that therecommendations to fast are not restricted tocertain periods, but extend all year round.

Likewise the other good actions should not besaved only for Ramadhan, but should be extendedall year round. So the believer should not wait forcertain times or periods to be good in his choice ofactions but should take every opportunity to gainthe pleasure of Allah (SWT).

Abu Hurairah reported: Messenger of Allah (saw)said,

"Be prompt in doing good deeds (before youare overtaken) by turbulence which would belike a part of the dark night. A man would be abeliever in the morning and turn to disbelief inthe evening, or he would be a believer in theevening and turn disbeliever in the morning,and would sell his Faith for worldly goods."[Muslim].

Abu Hurairah reported: Messenger of Allah (saw)said,

"Hasten to do good deeds before you areovertaken by one of the seven afflictions.'' Then(giving a warning) he said, "Are you waitingfor such poverty which will make youunmindful of devotion; or prosperity whichwill make you corrupt, or disease as will disableyou, or such senility as will make you mentallyunstable, or sudden death, or Ad-Dajjal who isthe worst expected absent, or the Hour, and theHour will be most grievous and most bitter.”[At-Tirmidhi].

On the authority of Abu Hurairah, the Messengerof Allah said,

POST RAMADHANWORSHIP

Alhamdulilah the month of Ramadhan hascompleted for another year, and we moveon to the month of Shawaal.

The previous month saw the Mosques full ofpeople worshipping Allah (SWT) in the day andnight, millions of Muslims the world oversacrificed their time and energy to seek thepleasure of Allah (SWT), praying the TaraweehSalaat, doing Itikaaf, making Umrah whilst fastingall the while. Ramadhan is a month of greatblessing, and a time when all Muslims openlyenjoin in the good deeds, however, the good deedsneed not stop at the end of Ramadhan.

Islam is a Universal religion and ideology, with allrules for all people. Its absence in implementationin society though has led to the prevalence of non-Islamic approaches to deal with the Muslimsconduct.

Consequently the Muslim community andcountries are affected by various concepts thatdilute Islam. One of these is thecompartmentalisation of Islam to certain timeperiods. Hence in Ramadhan many people openlypractice the rules of Islam, fasting, attending themosque for Taraweeh prayers and Qiyam, readingthe quran etc, yet after Ramadhan for many thereis little adherence to the Deen. Even thoughpracticing these actions beyond Ramadhan canalso yield reward in the hereafter. For exampleFasting in the month of Shawwal is a highlyrecommended action: Abu Ayyoub reported thatthe Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

"Whoever fasts the month of Ramadhan andthen follows it by fasting six days during themonth of Shawwaal will be rewarded as if hehad fasted the entire year."[Related by Muslim, at-Tirmithi, Ibn Majah, AbuDawood and Ahmad by way of Jabir].

Likewise fasting on the day of Àrafah (9th Dhu-al-Hijjah) is also recommended. This is for thosewho are not performing the Hajj (pilgrimage). Abu

actions and avoid the bad actions, and this appliesall year round, to the young and to the old. For allare accountable to Allah (SWT). There is noconcept in Islam of periods of good versus bad, sothe idea where people think they can avoid Islamand it rules all year except in Ramadhan is a falseone. Yet this idea is promoted by those who holdthe secular view.

This compartmentalisation of Deen emanatesfrom secularist view which separates spiritualissues from other issues, so whilst all spiritualorientated activity is to be kept pure, there is nolimit to the corruption of the non-spiritual activity.So away from the Mosque or Ramadhan it isencouraged upon the Muslims to engage in thecorruption.

One example of this was the attempted staging ofthe Miss World Beauty contest which was to beheld in Nigeria in Ramadhan, but organisersfearing a backlash from the Muslim populationpostponed it for later. The backlash happenedanyway due to other reasons, and Muslims of theNigeria aired their opposition to holding the eventnot just in Ramadhan but at all. Later the contestwas moved out of the country.

Similarly in the Western Societies the Muslims areencouraged to practice Islam as individuals, butmaintain a Western political outlook when dealingwith non-spiritual matters, so when a Muslim inthe West wants to get a job or start a business hiscriteria judging what is correct is what his mindsays is correct and not what Islam says is correct.This is in spite of the clear evidences in Islamguiding the believer to judge only with Islam.

Allah (swt) says in Sura An-Nisa,

"But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith,until they make you (O Muhammad) judge inall disputes between them, and find inthemselves no resistance against your decisions,and accept (them) with full submission."[TMQAn-Nisa: 65]

Thus all actions whether they be worships oractions related to working need to be inaccordance to what the Shari'ah has brought downand consequently there is no concept of choosingto live by a non-Islamic viewpoint followed byperiods of extra worship in the Holy month.Rather at all times the Muslim is advised to live bythe guidelines of Islam, and in certain periods heis guided to do more than he is already doing.

The listed ahadith clearly show theencouragement and potential reward for following


the deen. Unlike the western mindset, the Islamicoutlook shapes the persons actions accordingresults in this and the following life. It is only byfollowing Islam in this life that a believer canexpect to succeed in the next.

Allah (SWT) says in Sura An-Nisa:

"And whoso obeys Allah and the Messenger thenthey will be in the company of those on whomAllah has bestowed His Grace" [TMQ An-Nisa :69]

All the actions a Muslim engages in today impacthis next life. Whereas in the Western mindset thereis no engagement of what is the consequence oftheir actions in the next life. Rather the objectivefor such a person is simply seeking pleasure forone self. Regardless of the consequences, and theimpact of the action upon others. Hence it isacceptable to exploit other people or even othernations with such an outlook, and the exploitationof others is prevalent. One such example of this isthe use of the infamous sweatshops in the thirdworld, which exploit people to work under harshconditions and for minimal wages to produceproducts that are sold to high paying consumers inthe western world.

Conversely the Muslim should engage in hisactions to purely seek the pleasure of Allah(SWT), by following the Shari'ah he not only actsin accordance to consequences in the followinglife, but also acts in a just way in this life.

Allah (SWT) says in Sura An-Nisa:

"O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice,as witnesses to Allah, even though it be againstyourselves, or your parents, or your kin, be he richor poor, Allah is a Better Protector to both (thanyou). So follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lestyou may avoid justice, and if you distort yourwitness or refuse to give it, verily, Allah is EverWell Acquainted with what you do." [TMQ An-Nisa: 135]

On the authority of Ibn Abbas that the Messengerof Allah, among the sayings he relates from hisLord is,

"Do not envy one another; do not inflate pricesone to another; do not hate one another; do notturn away from one another; and do notundercut one another, but be you, O servants ofAllah, brothers. A Muslim is the brother of aMuslim: he neither oppresses him nor does hefail him, he neither lies to him nor does he holdhim in contempt. Piety is right here-and hepointed to his breast three times. It is evilenough for a man to hold his brother Muslim incontempt. The whole of a Muslim for anotherMuslim is inviolable: his blood, his property,and his honour."[Muslim]

On the authority of Abu Hurairah that the Prophet(saw) said,

"Whosoever removes a worldly grief from abeliever, Allah will remove from him one of thegrief's of the Day of Judgment. Whosoeveralleviates [the lot of] a needy person, Allah willalleviate [his lot] in this world and the next.Whosoever shields a Muslim, Allah will shieldhim in this world and the next. Allah will aid aservant [of His] so long as the servant aids hisbrother. Whosoever follows a path to seekknowledge therein, Allah will make easy forhim a path to Paradise. No people gathertogether in one of the houses of Allah, recitingthe Book of Allah and studying it amongthemselves, without tranquillity descendingupon them, mercy enveloping them, the angelssurrounding them, and Allah making mentionof them amongst those who are with Him.Whosoever is slowed down by his actions willnot be hastened forward by his lineage."[Muslim]

All these ahadith which cover the conduct of aMuslim clearly push him to hasten to do the good


"Allah has written down the good deeds andthe bad ones." Then he explained it [by sayingthat]: "He who has intended a good deed andhas not done it, Allah writes it down withHimself as a full good deed, but if he hasintended it and has done it, Allah writes it downwith Himself as from ten good deeds to sevenhundred times, or many times over. But if hehas intended a bad deed and has not done it,Allah writes it down with Himself as a full gooddeed, but if he has intended it and has done it,Allah writes it down as one bad deed."[Bukhari,Muslim]

May Allah guide us to that which pleases Him andestablish us firmly upon the True Deen.

Asim Khan

both sides. The West can start to address some ofthis by working with the grain of Islamic belief -and with willing partners. We will fail if we dictateto others. The colonial days are over, and no onewants them back."

Also Tony Blair writing in the 'Daily Jang'newspaper a few days ago said talking about theIraq question

"It is nothing to do with religion. We must not allowSaddam to wear the cloak of religion to hide hisevil intentions"

So it is clear that there is a concerted attempt toportray the 'War on Terror' as not a 'War againstIslam'. Many including the British ForeignSecretary recently apologised for the bad oldcolonial days. These comments are obviouslydesigned to present British foreign policy asaltruistic, benign and not against Islam. However itnot helpful to speak of British and Western foreignpolicy as one of friendship to the Muslims, or acollection of benign policies which do not targetIslam, rather a detailed study of the West's strategicand commercial interests throughout the world ismuch more useful. Britain and America areCapitalist nations whose foreign policy isexclusively driven by what is in their benefit. If it isin their benefit to help the Muslims in one situationas it was in Kosovo, then they will engage inactions to help the Muslims even if the other partyare Christians. However the fact that the West werehelping Muslims in Kosovo was incidental to theproblem as the main objective was to ensurestrategic stability returned in the Balkans andSouthern Europe through the defeat of Milosovic.Indeed if the West's policy is simply to helpMuslims, why does the West warmly embrace theButcher of Chechnya Putin as Tony Blair recentlydid on his visit to Moscow. If supporting Muslimsis the policy, why does the West allow the Butcherof Palestine Sharon to engage in his wanton acts ofviolence against the Muslims of Palestine withouteven so much of a condemnation?

Western foreign policy is therefore not concerned

Since the events of September 11th 2001, it isabundantly clear that the Westerngovernments have been conducting a ruthless

campaign against Islam and Muslims under thedisguise of a "War on Terror". We have witnessedwith immense sadness the events that have takenplace in the name of the "War on Terror" such as thekilling of the Muslims of Afghanistan, thecontinued aggression against the Muslims of Iraqand the butchering of the Muslims of Palestine. Inaddition we have all seen the execution of Muslimsin Chechnya, the arrest and torture of Da'wacarriers in Uzbekistan aimed at shattering theirresolve, and the onslaught against the Muslims ofIndia at the hands of Hindu mobs. All of this wasorchestrated and sanctioned by the head of Kufr,America, and supported slavishly by Britain andthe other Western governments.

This campaign of the West aims to destroy Islambut simultaneously portray to the Muslims that theyare not attacking Islam. In recent months, in orderto propel forward their campaign, politicians,commentators, journalists and prominentpersonalities have all engaged in this message withthe Muslim community in Britain. It has nowreached the stage where volumes have been writtenin the print media and hours of airtime have beendevoted to the subject on talk shows. The campaignis now coming to a head and in an news article onNovember 27th 2002 in the 'Guardian' it was said:

"A day after warning MP's that some Islamicfundamentalists regard moderate Muslims as worseenemies than Christians and Jews. Mr Straw toldthe annual awards ceremony of the Foreign PressAssociation that ministers will continue to resistvoices which portray the government's stance as'anti-Muslim'."

Mike O'Brien the Junior British Minister in hisspeech to a recent seminar titled 'Militant Islam inAsia' on the 21 November 2002 also mentionedhow the West and Muslims should work together,he said;

"The challenge today is to remove the ignorance on

BRITAIN'S QUEST TOWIN THE PROPAGANDAWAR

are Muslims. The only groups that have beeninvestigated maligned and harassed have beenMuslims. The only countries that the West wants toimpose UN resolutions on are Muslim countries,despite violations by other countries like India andIsrael. The West threatens Iraq a Muslim countrywith war on unsubstantiated allegations of thelatter's possession of weapons of mass destruction,but is content with following diplomatic channelswith respect to North Korea who have actuallyadmitted owning such weapons. The West talksabout the sanctity of freedom of speech when itsuits her policy, but then keeps quiet when sincereMuslims are imprisoned for accounting theirunsavoury allies in Egypt, Pakistan and Jordan. TheWest talks about human rights violations in Iraqwhile turning a blind eye to the torture andimprisonment of Muslims in Guantanomo Bay,Uzbekistan and Turkey. Yet despite all thisincontrovertible evidence the WesternEstablishment continues to maintain that the 'Waron Terror' has nothing to do with Islam.

We should not get bitten again from the samecolonialists who promised our forefathers aKhilafah in the Arab world that would provide uswith protection, while secretly plotting to usurp theland for themselves. We should not get bitten againfrom the nation who promised under the guise ofthe East India Company that they were simplyenhancing trade yet were in reality seeking politicalcontrol. We should not get bitten again from thecolonialists who today say we have no problemwith Islam but who via loans are seeking to ridIslam from the educational curriculum in countrieslike Pakistan. We should not get bitten again fromthe same colonialists who claim they are sorryabout the days of occupation under the BritishEmpire yet as we speak are planning to occupy Iraqand its abundance of oil reserves.

It has become obvious for anyone to see that theWest still has the 'crusader' mentality burningthrough their hearts. They realise that only theIslamic ideology after the demise of communismseriously threatens their colonialist worldview.However they are also aware that the Aqeedah ofthe Muslims burns brightly and therefore they seekto attack Islam by portraying that they are not reallyattacking Islam. But do the Western governmentsreally think that this Ummah including the Muslimsin Britain are naive, will we ever forget the attackson the Muslims of Afghanistan, the blood fromwhich is yet to dry? Do they really think that thesons and daughters of this Ummah will not standshoulder with shoulder with the Muslims of Iraq ifa war breaks out? Do they not realise that theMuslims of Britain will never abandon theirbrothers and sisters in Palestine to the fate thatawaits them under the falseness of internationallaw?


with Muslims engaging in their personal worships,however Western foreign policy is obsessed withstopping Islam manifesting itself politically. This isbecause an Islamic political entity is diametricallyopposite to colonialism and its worldview, whereascapitalism and colonialism are inextricably linked,indeed colonialism is the method by whichcapitalism is spread. Consequently the planners andpoliticians from amongst the West have clearlyidentified an Islamic State as a clear obstacle inachieving their imperialistic designs, as can be seenfrom a statement made by a previous BritishForeign Secretary just before World War Two:

"We must put an end to anything which bringsabout any Islamic unity between the sons of theMuslims. As we have already succeeded infinishing off the Khilafah, so we must ensure thatthere will never arise again unity for the Muslims,whether it be intellectual or cultural unity."

It is clear throughout the 20th century and now inthe millennium, that we are seeing a concertedcampaign to discredit Islam as a political force.Western Leaders may condemn Huntington's 'Clashof Civilisations' theory but they certainly apply it intheir foreign policy. British colonialism oppressedthe Muslims of India; it massacred its citizens andusurped its wealth. The British Mandate via theBalfour declaration promised the Palestinians theirown homeland while simultaneously promising theJews the same land. The British were instrumentalin working night and day to destroy the OthmaniKhilafah so that Islam as a political entity wouldnever again challenge their imperialistic ambitions.However apologists claim these were events thattook place in the past and that present policies havechanged. However looking at some of the presentpolitical realities indicates that despite its desire for'modernisation' in all domestic spheres, the West'sforeign policy still follows the traditional method ofdeception, political control and double standards.As Robert Cooper, Tony Blair's foreign policyadviser admitted;

"But when dealing with more old-fashioned kindsof states outside the post-modern continent ofEurope, we need to revert to the rougher methods ofan earlier era - force, pre-emptive attack, deceptionwhatever is necessary to deal with those who stilllive in the 19th century of every state for itself"

To therefore illustrate this let us examine the recordof the 'War on Terror', purportedly not a 'Waragainst Islam'. It is clear to any aware observer thatthe only people that have been targeted as part ofthe West's 'War on Terror' have been the Muslims.The only countries that have been attacked havebeen Muslim countries. The only people that havebeen arrested and sent to places like GuantanomoBay or kept in British jails without facing charges

Today's Crusade launched against Islam and theMuslims aims to subvert Islam by making Muslimsdoubt the actions and intention of the Colonialist.The colonialists themselves have long agosacrificed all noble values for their endless pursuitof materialistic goals, they now want to keep Islamcompletely away from the political life, such thatnothing remains of it but spiritualistic ritualsconducted in the places of worship and a few pagesin books of history. We ask you not to be fooled bythose who claim that they have no issue with youwhilst simultaneously making plans to occupy ourlands and usurp our resources. We ask you to alsoact as ambassadors of Islam in this society toexpose the false basis behind the Western systemnot to be pacified by putting on the West'sintegrationist straitjacket. We ask you todemonstrate the callousness of the Western system,which is prepared to kill thousands of Iraqis topursue their strategic goals. We ask you to exposethe Capitalist system, which is prepared to send itsbest sons to die in the hot sands of the desert so thatoil companies and defence contractors can enhancetheir corporate profits. We ask you to point out theinjustices of the fact that hundreds of thousands ofpeople sleep on the streets of London, Paris andNew York, while corporations that bankrollpoliticians to declare war, make billions in profits.We ask you to condemn the barbarism of westernsocieties who claim they should be role models forthe people of Iraq yet cannot even secure their ownpeople from epidemic levels of muggings, burglaryor child molestation. We ask you to stand up for theoppression of women in this society by saying thatit is unacceptable that over 60% of women in prisonare kept in prison, even though they suffer fromneurotic disorders and this despite 2002 being arecord year for suicides of female inmates in Britishprisons.

He (swt) said:

'O you who believe! Answer Allah and HisMessenger when he (the Messenger) calls you tothat which will give you life, and know that Allahcomes in between a person and his heart. Andverily to Him you shall (all) be gathered. And fearthe fitna (affliction, trial) which affects not inparticular (only) those of you who do wrong, andknow that Allah is Severe in punishment' [TMQ Al-Anfal: 24-25]

Sajjad Khan


After losing the Khilafah, like people clutching atwhatever they can on a sinking ship, the Ummahgrabbed onto whatever remained of the Deen aspoignantly depicted in the hadith above. However,the good is, and always will be, in this Ummah andit was not long before she started embarking on thepath of awakening due to the work of the sincereDa'wah carriers. One by one she began to reclaim theknots she had lost and now she is poised to reclaimthat final knot; the knot of Ruling by Islam.

Today, by Allah's Grace and Mercy, the notion ofKhilafah is not strange to the Ummah, except tothose of course who have been inebriated by thewestern culture. However, it is important to gobeyond the recognition of this obligation and tofamiliarize ourselves with its detailed evidences.Like all other obligations it should be anchored deepwithin the hearts and minds of the Ummah such thatit can never be expunged from her memory again.

The hadith of our times

The evidences for Khilafah are many. But theevidence I wish to discuss perfectly describes ourreality today: which is that we live at a time when noKhaleefah exists. And that evidence is the hadithreported by Imam Muslim on the authority of Nafi'that the Messenger (saw) said:

"The one who removes his hand from obediencehe will meet Allah without a proof for himself'and Whosoever dies without a bay'ah on his neckdies the death of Jahiliyyah."

This hadith provides the Hukm Shar'i for a situationwhen Muslims die without the presence of aKhaleefah to rule over them. Perhaps, this is whatexplains the Fuqahaa`s (jurists) relative silence overthis hadith while the numerous other evidenceswhich establish the obligation of Khilafah havereceived greater attention and scrutiny. In short, theycould not imagine a situation when a Muslim woulddie without the presence of a Khaleefah; that wassimply unthinkable! Hence the discussion tended tocentre on the obligation of appointing a Khaleefahafter the death of the previous Khaleefah. Or that itis obligatory to obey the existing Khaleefah and sohaving a Khaleefah must be obligatory.

The revival of an obligation

The obligation we are about to discuss issomething the Muslims took for granted, forwell over a thousand years, much like the

obligation of Salah and fasting today which, al-hamdu lillah, are not open to discussion and debate.However the Prophet (saw) did warn us there wouldcome a time when the Deen will become strange andunrecognizable to the people and those carrying itsCall will be seen as strange due to the Message thatthey carry.

He (saw) said:

"Islam began strange and it shall return strange.So glad tiding to the Strangers." [Reported byMuslim]

This hadith holds a meaning that is especiallyreflective of our times, for in the last hundred yearsthis noble Ummah has witnessed the destruction ofher State and with that, due to the colonization of herlands by the colonialists, the crushing tidal wave ofthe western culture. The western culture completelyengulfed her to the point of suffocation. It turnedblack into white and white into black. Never did theUmmah encounter such cultural strangulation, whichleft her bewildered and confused about the mostbasic and rudimentary tenets of her Deen. To causemaximum damage the colonialists chose their targetscarefully when they unleashed their degenerateculture upon us: they attacked the notion of oneUmmah by disseminating the idea of nationalismand nationhood. The Sharee'ah was depicted asbarbaric, harking back to a medieval age but notsuited to an age of reason and modernity. Whilst theruling system of Islam, the Islamic Khilafah, wasnothing short of despotism justified under the nameof religion.

So what impact did this western polemic have uponthe sons of this Ummah? First of all the effect wasmostly noticeable amongst the scholars, authors andmen of letters. Some answered back but with anapologetic tone - so the Khilafah was deemed to be ademocratic system all along- whilst a handful whohad succumbed to the western culture even denied itas having any Sharee'ah legitimacy, such as the likesof 'Ali 'Abd ar-Raaziq who, which will come as nosurprise, was influenced by none other than theKaafir orientalist Sir Thomas Arnold! For example

in his book: 'al-Islam wa Usul al-Hukm' afterattempting to prove that there is no daleel (evidence)for Khilafah in the Ayah:

"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey theMessenger and those in authority from amongst you"[TMQ An-Nisa :59]

he says on page 11: 'If you want to find out more onthis discussion then please refer to the book 'TheCaliphate' by the scholar Sir Thomas Arnold. Theexplanation in chapter two and three of that book isexcellent and convincing' This book, quiteopportunely it seems, was published a year after theKhilafah was destroyed in 1925. In it he went togreat pains to argue that the above and other suchhadith and ayat which command the obedience to aKhaleefah do not establish the obligation to appointa Khaleefah because they apply only when an imamexists and if he does not exist then there is noobligation to appoint one. To prove this he adducedthe following breathtaking argument: 'Are we notordered by the Sharee'ah to be generous to beggars,respect the poor and treat them well and showkindness to them? So can anyone who has anyintelligence say that this means the Sharee'ah hasobliged us to bring about paupers and orphans?' [al-Islam wa Usul al-Hukm' pp.125-126, in editionpublished by al-Mu`assasa al-'Arabiyyah lid dirasaatwan nashr.]

In time a sense of apathy towards the issue ofKhilafah reigned over the Ummah and in cases evenembarrassment. Many saw the Khilafah as a relic ofthe past and which should remain in the past orsimply impossible to implement in this day and age;hence there was no alternative but to make recourseto secularism. This was a time of great turmoil andchange for the Ummah. This is the time when wewitnessed the hadith of the Messenger (saw)unfolding before our eyes when he (saw) said:

"Verily, the knots of Islam will be undone one byone. Whenever one knot is lost then the peoplegrabbed onto the one which came after it. Thefirst of these knots will be the Ruling and the lastwill be the Salah." [Reported by At-Tabaraani]

THE FARDIYYAH (OBLIGATION)OF WORKING FOR KHILAFAH


every single person to physically give it, rather it isenough for the Ahlul Halli wal 'Aqd (those whorepresent the Muslims) to give the bay'ah on behalfof the people. This means that a person living evenoutside the Islamic authority has a bay'ah on his neckif a Khaleefah has been contracted to his post by therepresentatives of the Muslims. In fact this was thebasic format in which all the Khulafaa' ar-Rashidoonwere appointed. None of them were appointed by abay'ah which was given by the whole of thepopulation of the Islamic state, rather it was alwaysthe representatives of the Muslims who appointedthem. For example when 'Umar b. al-Khattab waselected as Khaleefah by the ahlul halli wal a'qd inMadinah the people of ash-Sham and Egypt did nothave to give the bay'ah because the bay'ah was ontheir neck by virtue of the fact that the contractualbay'ah had taken place through their representativesthe ahlul halli wal aqd. Those who died in ash-Shamand Egypt during the Khilafah of 'Umar b. al-Khattab did not die the death of jahiliyyah becausethey had the bay'ah on their necks even though theydid not come to Madinah and physically give thebay'ah themselves. This is the difference betweengiving the bay'ah and having the bay'ah on one'sneck. If however the representatives of the Muslimsin Madinah after 'Umar's death did not appoint aKhaleefah then the Muslims of ash-Sham and Egyptwould not have the bay'ah on their necks because thecontractual bay'ah had not taken place i.e. aKhaleefah had not been appointed.

Thus, the hadith is very accurate in its description; itis not talking about giving bay'ah to a Khaleefah butrather having a: 'Bay'ah on the neck for a Khaleefah'which describes a situation when someone dieswithout the presence of a Khaleefah. Hence it iswrong to argue that one cannot use this hadith toprove the obligation of Khilafah by claiming that itis talking about situation when the Khaleefah exists.Such an assertion is not established by the internalindications of the text which show that the Haal(condition) described is the death which occurs whena Khaleefah is not present.

As for 'Ali 'Abd ar-Raaziq's argument that Sharee'ahhas obliged us to look after beggars and orphans sodoes that mean if they don't exist we have to bringthem about to fulfill this command or the argumentthat we are obliged to obey parents so does that meanwe are obliged to bring them back if they die?! Sucharguments to say the least are highly fatuous andcannot be considered as scholarly opinions for theydisregard the fact that the ahkaam (rules) come withtheir asbaab (causes). The sabab (cause) ofobedience to parents is their existence and henceupon their death the sabab (cause) ceases whichmeans the hukm of obedience also ceases. Also thesame applies to beggars and orphans in respect to theahkaams (rules) which came pertaining to them. Butthis is different when it comes to appointing aKhaleefah because the sabab (cause) of the presenceof a Khaleefah is the presence of the Jama'ah i.e.Ummah or community which has to look after itsaffairs by Islam. So if the community exists thenKhaleefah must exist to look after their affairs.

The Prophet (saw) said in a hadith that has been

narrated by Imam Ahmed in his Musnad;

"It is not allowed for three people to be in afulaatin without appointing one of them as anAmeer."

This hadith makes it clear that whenever a collectionof Muslims exist i.e. jamaa'ah it is prohibited forthem to exist except with an ameer i.e. therefore it isan obligation to appoint an Ameer WHEN there isany jama'ah i.e. the existence of jama'ah is the sabab(cause) of the obligation of appointing a Khaleefah.

In fact the term jama'ah in the Islamic text meansState, authority, and Khaleefah. Let us look at thefollowing hadith: Ibn 'Abbas narrated thatMessenger (saw) said:

"The one who sees in his Ameer something whichdispleases him, let remain patient, for he whoseparates himself from the community (Jama'ah)by even so much as a hand span and dies (in thisstate), he will die the death of Jahiliyyah,"(reported by Bukhari and Muslim.)

Here disobedience and rebellion against theKhaleefah is synonymous with separation from theJama'ah. This is because it is obligatory on theJama'ah to look after their affairs by Islam. Having aKhaleefah present means this duty is being fulfilled.But if he is disobeyed this means the obligation oflooking after their affairs by Islam is being neglectedsince he is the one who undertakes this task. So theJama'ah has to obey a Khaleefah so that their affairscan be looked after. The reason why a Khaleefahneeds to exist is because the affairs cannot be lookedafter except by him. Thus, the sabab (cause) of thepresence of a Khaleefah is the presence of Jamaa'ahwhich is obliged to look after its affairs by Islam.Hence, when the Messenger of Allah (saw) orders usto obey the Khaleefah this means by Ishaarah(alluded meaning) it is obligatory to appoint aKhaleefah for how can the Fard (obligation) ofruling by Islam be accomplished if he did not exist.So it is wrong to say a Khaleefah does not exist sowe are not sinful for not appointing and obeying theKhaleefah. This is because the sabab (cause) is nothis existence, rather the sabab (cause) of his presenceis the presence of a Jamaa'ah which is obliged tolook after its affairs by Islam.

We can see the same point much more clearly inanother narration by Ibn 'Abbas which uses the wordSultan instead of Jamaa'ah:

"If anybody sees in his Ameer something whichdispleases him, he should remain patient, for he

However, one thing is for sure; the unthinkable hashappened and the Khilafah has been destroyed andMuslims are dying while they have no Khaleefahover them. So what better evidence to start off withthan the hadith which directly addresses our reality?

The process of extractionWhat is the Manaat (reality) of the text?

The hadith is describing not one but two types ofpeople since it came in two parts as indicated by thewaw al-isti`naaf or ibtidaa` (in English the word 'and'is used) (ie the disjunctive syntax where the wawbegins a new sentence) . In the first part it says 'Theone who removes his hand from obedience he willmeet Allah without a proof for himself' This iswhen the Khaleefah exists and someone withholdshis obedience to the Khaleefah. As for the secondpart it is not describing the same person since thewaw al- isti`naaf indicates it is beginning a newsentence to make a different point. This time he(saw) says: ‘And (waw al- isti`naaf) the one whodies without a bay'ah on his neck he dies thedeath of jahiliyyah' This is further confirmed by thefact that he repeats the personal pronoun 'man' (theone who or whosoever). This also indicates thehadith discusses two types of people in two differentsituations.

To appreciate this point better let us look at anotherhadith where exactly the same thing happens:

He (saw) said:

"The one who dies in the Path of Allah he isshaeed and (waw al- isti`naaf) the one who dies ina plague he is a shaeed" [sahih Muslim]

The death here occurs in two states separated by thewaw al- isti`naaf. So the first death is in the Path ofAllah whilst the second death occurs in a plague. Itwould be absurd if someone claimed here that thehadith is talking about the same situation.

Thus the hadith in question is talking about twodifferent situations. The first situation as we said iswhen someone withholds his obedience to theexisting Khaleefah. But what about the second part?The second part begins by saying: 'the one who dieswithout a bay'ah on his neck..' The waw al-Haal(waw of condition) in wa laysa fi 'unuqihi bay'ahclarifies the state in which the person dies, and in thiscase it is when he dies 'without a bay'ah on his neck'. So what is that state when someone does without abay'ah on his neck. It can't mean giving the bay'ahbecause the hadith did not say 'wa lam yu'til bay'ah'(and he did not give the bay'ah) let alone the fact thatgiving the bay'ah (pledge) is a kifayah duty(sufficiency) and not an individual obligation in thefirst place as indicated by the Ijma' as-sahabah(consensus of the Sahabah).

What explains the meaning of bay'ah on the neck isthe fact that the contractual bay'ah does not require


who separates himself from the authority (Sultan)by even so much as a hand span and diesthereupon, he would die the death of the days ofignorance,"[Reported by Muslim]

Here we can see that separation from Jamaa'ah andauthority (sultan) are used synonymously. Authority(sultan) means the body which looks after the affairs.Jamaa'ah refers to the community whose affairs arelooked after by the Khaleefah. The key thing in bothis the obligation of looking after of the affairs whichoccasions the presence of a Khaleefah.

Also it is reported that 'Umar b. al-Khattab said:

"There is no Islam without Jamaa'ah and there isnot Jamaa'ah without Imaarah (leadership). Andthere is no Imaarah (leadership) withoutobedience." (Reported by ad-Darimi in his Sunan)

ie there is no looking after of the affairs of theJamaa'ah or authority (sultan) without an ameer(Imaarah) and naturally there can be no Ameer whenthere is no obedience to him. So the Jamaa'ah inorder to exist ie for its affairs to be looked after mustappoint an Ameer. And consequently obedience tothis Ameer is obligatory because the obligation oflooking after the affairs is not possible without anAmeer. Thus, when the Prophet (saw) ordered us togive allegiance (bay'ah) or obey the Khaleefah it hasa greater meaning than when he orders us to feed thepoor or look after our parents. We feed the poorbecause they are poor and we obey parents becausethey are parents. Thus when they cease to exist thehukm ceases. But our obedience to the Khaleefah isbecause he looks after the affairs of the Jamaa'ahwhich itself is an obligation. Thus when theKhaleefah dies the obligation of obedience to himdoes not cease because the sabab (cause) of theobedience still exists which is the looking after of theaffairs. Hence, so as long as the cause of appointinga Khaleefah exists which is the presence of aJamaa'ah whose affairs have to be looked after byIslam then the obligation of appointing him andobeying him remains even if he did not exist. This isthe reason why the order to obey the Khaleefah byIshaarah (alluded meaning) means the order toappoint him.

Let us consider the following ayah:

"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey theMessenger and those in authority from amongst you"[TMQ An-Nisa :59]

Here we are obliged to obey those in authoritybecause they are the ones who look after the affairs.So obedience is due as long the ruler looks after theaffairs by Islam. Since looking after affairs by Islamis Fard then the obedience to them indicates by

Ihsraah that they need to exist. In another hadith thispoint is made even more clearer:

"Even if a slave was appointed over you wholeads you with the Book of Allah then hear andobey." [reported by Muslim]

Here to emphasis the obedience to the one who looksafter the affairs we are commanded in the style ofmubaalagha (exaggeration) to obey even if the ameeris a slave. Ie obedience is due because he looks afterthe affairs which is an obligation. Hence the order toobey indicates by ishaarat an-nass (alluded meaningfrom the text) the obligation of his presence.

Otherwise we are saying the hukm does not have befulfilled because something necessary for itsfulfillment does not exist even the though the sabab(cause) of the hukm still exists! For example if weapply this type of erroneous thinking on otherahkams look what happens: Jihad for instance is anobligation whose sabab (cause) is the presence ofKuffar under the authority of Kufr. So if Kuffar existunder dar al-kufr then Jihad exists. However tofulfill the Jihad one requires an Ameer by Iqtidaa(required meaning). Without an Ameer jihad cannotbe undertaken and hence appointment of an Ameerbecomes obligatory in order to fulfill Jihad becausethat which is necessary to fulfill a wajib is itself awaajib. So by Iqtidaa the presence of an Ameerbecomes waajib. But if we follow the silly logicmentioned above the conclusion would be Jihad isnot Fard because an Ameer does not exist! Such aconclusion is completely wrong because the sabab(cause) which caused the obligation of Jihad to existis not the presence of an Ameer but the presence ofKuffar in Dar al-kufr. So as long as kuffar exist theFard of jihad exists regardless of an Ameer'spresence. Rather what we take from the existence ofthe Fard is that a Ameer needs to be appointed inorder to fulfill the obligation.

Finally, the use of the expression 'man maata'deserves a further comment. The reference to thepoint of death indicates that the hukm (rule) mustexist throughout his life. There cannot be a point inhis life when he is in a state without a bay'ah on hisneck i.e. without the presence of a Khaleefah. So thehukm is continuous unlike the ahkam of obeyingparents where the hukm ends upon their death or thehukm of giving to the poor which ends when povertyceases. But the obligation of having a Khaleefahover you never ceases because text says 'the one whodies' indicating the continuity of the hukmthroughout the life of a person for he is not allowedto die in situation where the Khaleefah is not present.

What is the Hukm Shar'i?

The legislative value of the above discussion is thatit allows us to extract two hukms: that it is Fard 'ayni(individual obligation) to have a Khaleefah presentand also that it is Fard Kifayah (obligation ofsufficiency) to appoint a Khaleefah.

As for the first hukm it is deduced from the request(talab) in the hadith that a Muslim should not diewithout a Khaleefah present. As we said before'bay'ah on the neck' is not possible to have withoutthe presence of the Khaleefah. So if it is not allowedto die without a bay'ah on the neck, this means it isnot allowed to die without the presence of aKhaleefah. This type of indication (dalaalah) in Usulal-Fiqh is known as dalaalat al-Iqtidaa (the requiredmeaning of the text). I.e. this is when the truthfulnessor correctness of a statement (sidq al-mutakallim wasihhatul malfooz bihi) cannot be established unlessone understands the lafz (expression) in a certainway.

For example:

"And never will Allah grant to the disbelievers a wayover the believers." [TMQ An-Nisa:141]

Here the manTooq (pronounced meaning) is Allahwill not allow the kaafir to have authority over thebelievers. However, is this permission in terms of theoccurrence of authority or prohibition of authority?It cannot be the fist because we know the kuffar inactuality have authority over the believers inPalestine and Kashmir so the only meaning whichwill give truthfulness to the statement is prohibition.So we say the mafhoom (implicit meaning) of thisayah through dalalat al-iqtidaa (required meaning) isthat Allah prohibits that Kuffar have authority overthe believers.

In the same manner the mafhoom (implied meaning)of 'bay'ah on the neck' is the presence of theKhaleefah by the required meaning (dalalaatuliqtidaa). Thus for the expression 'bay'ah on the neck'to be truthful we must understand it to meanpresence of the Khaleefah.

Thus, the one who dies without the presence of theKhaleefah would be sinful due to the qaraa'in whichmake the request decisive. For example thepreposition 'fee unuqihi' actually means 'ala unuqihiie obligation to have on one's neck much like whenwe say in English someone has 'a debt on his neck' iehe has a debt he has to pay. We can also see the useof the 'ala in the following hadith of Prophet (saw)said:

"It is obligatory for you ('alayka) to hear andobey the ruler in adversity and prosperity, inpleasure and displeasure, and even when anotherperson is given (rather undue) preference overyou." [Reported by Muslim in his Sahih/num:1836]

In addition to this is the explicit qareenah(indication) 'dies the death of Jahiliiayh'. Theattribution of a death occurring in the days ofIgnorance establishes beyond any doubt thedecisiveness of the request. This means thecommand is a Fard which if neglected would entail


sin and punishment. Also, since the personalpronoun 'man' is general this means it includes everysingle Muslim i.e. every individual faces death andtherefore the indefinite term 'maata' i.e. dies, coupledwith the negation is clear that every single individualis addressed and hence it is a Fard 'ayni (individualobligation) to have a Khaleefah present.

As a further proof of the above understanding let uslook at other narrations of the same hadith. It hasbeen narrated on the authority of 'Umar that theMessenger (saw) said:

"The One who dies without an Imam he dies thedeath of Jahiliyyah". [Reported on the authority of'Umar by at-Tabarani and Abu Nu'aym. The latterdeclared the hadith as authentic]

Yet in another hadith narrated on the authority of Ibn'Umar by al-Hakim in his Mustadrak we have thefollowing version:

"He who abandons the Jamaa'ah by even somuch as a hand span is as if he has taken the knotof Islam off his neck, until he returns.' And he(saw) said: 'whoever dies while there was noImaam of a Jamaa'ah ruling over him, his deathwould be that of the days of Jahiliyyah."

It well known the scholars of hadith permitted thenarration of hadith by meaning (riwayah bilma'na).So in the above hadiths the raawi (transmitter)narrated the meaning of the saying of the Prophet(saw). So whilst the extraction of the hukm from theman maata hadith in Sahih Muslim is from theimplicit meaning (mafhoom), the above two hadithshowever are even more explicit as they make thesame point in the uttered meaning (manTooq).Incidentally, the hadith in Sahih Muslim and the oneabove from al-Hakim are both narrated by Ibn 'Umar.The first says 'bay'ah on the neck' while the secondsays 'while there was no Imaam of a Jamaa'ah rulingover him'. The meaning is same but the difference isthat the former is understood from the implicitmeaning (mafhoom) while the latter is taken fromthe uttered or pronounced meaning (manTooq).

As for the second hukm which is that it is Fard toappoint a Khaleefah, this is deduced from thedalalaatul Ishaarah (the alluded meaning of the text).The ishaarah is a hukm derived from the text whichwas not intended directly from the speech.

For example when Allah says:

"Ask those who know if you do not know." [TMQ An-Nahl: 43]

This cannot be done without the presence of

Mujtahideen and hence the presence of mujtahideenin every age obligation in order to find out thesharee'ah rule on a matter. The ayah did not directlymention the obligation of having mujtahideen but itis understood from the ishaarah when it commandedus to ask those who know if we do not know. In thesame manner the 'man maata' hadith establishes theobligation of having a Khaleefah present, this meansby ishaarah that it is an obligation to appoint aKhaleefah. Therefore, when the text says it is Fard tohave a Khaleefah present it also alludes to theobligation of appointing a Khaleefah such that he ispresent over us.

Thus, the above hadith clearly establishes theobligation of having a Khaleefah over us and theobligation of working to appoint a Khaleefah.

On WHOM does the Hukm shar'i apply? Is it anindividual (Fard 'ayni) or collective obligation(Fard kifaa`i) and what does that mean for theMuslim ?

The obligation of having a Khaleefah present is anindividual duty. This is because the personal pronoun'man' ( which means whoever) is from the generalexpression (seeghatul 'umoom) and it encompassesall people. Its nature is such that if the Khaleefah ispresent then he is present for all and if he is absentthen he is absent for all thus the obligation covers allpeople. It is well known in Usul that the generalremains general until there is another evidence tospecify it. Yes the insane, non-baligh are excludedfrom this generality but that is not from the mind butthere is a text to say they are not legally responsible(ghayr mukallaf) and hence they cannot be heldresponsible for duties they did not have capacity for.

He (saw) said:

"Three types of people are exempted fromaccountability, the one who sleeps until he wakesup, a child until he reaches the age of puberty andthe insane until he is cured." [Reported by AbuDawood]

Thus, the general remains in its generality unlessanother text comes to specify it. And in this case theobligation of having a Khaleefah present is on everylegally responsible (mukallaf) Muslim whether man,woman, layman or scholar.

As for the obligation of appointing a Khaleefah thisis Fard kifaayah (obligation of sufficiency).However this should not be taken as an excuse forinaction. This is because in terms of obligation(wujoob) and removal of the sin (isqaat) the Fard'ayn and kifayah are the same. This is because Fardmeans the Legislator has demanded in a decisiveform the performance of an action which if neglectedwill result in sin. Thus the obligation to fulfill thecommand is on all. Only if the command has beenfulfilled by some then the sin is removed from the

rest. This is because the consideration is for theaccomplishment of the Fard and not the undertakingof the Fard. Until and unless the Fard isaccomplished it continues to be an obligation on allno matter how many people undertook it. That iswhy the definition of Fard kifayah is: 'What somehave accomplished then the rest are absolved fromsin' (maa aqaamuhul ba'd saqata 'anil baaqeen) not'what some have undertaken …' (maa qaama bihilba'd). There is a big difference between undertakingan action and accomplishing it. So until the Fard isaccomplished the obligation remains on all. That iswhy if the kifayah obligation neglected everyone issinful and not just a few people.

For example it is Fard Kifayah for a group to respondwhen salam is given to them. The obligation remainson all of them until the obligation is fulfilled. If oneresponds with the salam and the Fard isaccomplished then all are saved from sin because theconsideration is the accomplishment of the Fard butif no one respond then all are sinful. Thus Fardkifayah and 'ayn are the same in obligation andremoval of the sin.

So it is wrong for someone to say appointing aKhaleefah is Fard kifayah so let some people do itand we will be saved. This will not save that personon the Day of judgment because the Fard has notbeen accomplished and hence the obligation remainson every single neck. The Ummah has only threedays and two nights to choose a Khaleefah, if theyfail to do this after this time the obligation continueson all and those who undertake the Fard are savedfrom the sin. But those who neglect will be sinful fornot fulfilling their Lord's command and they willhave to explain themselves to Him on the Day whenHis Account (Hisab) is swift.

Kamal Hussain


AMERICAN UNILATERALISM& THE ROLE OF PUBLICOPINION

the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and withdrewsupport from the 1996 Comprehensive Test BanTreaty.

Nevertheless under the guise of a "freedom-loving"nation, the United States has very thinly veiled itstrue colonialist killer agenda. Which at its best hassavaged and plundered much of the known world ofits resources and at worse deprives nations of theirability to sustain themselves leaving them to themercy of none. Today the Iraqi episode is acontinuing chapter in this very saga.

Re-engineering Geo-Politics of the Middle East

The US today continues from where her colonialistpredecessors namely Britain and France ceased indirectly determining the politics of other nations. It iswell established in its plans for a ground invasion ofIraq. Over the past three months, the number of USservice personnel in the region has soared to around50,000. Approximately 400 military aircraft arestationed in bases in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain,Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. B-2 bombers are alsobeing moved to Britain from the Indian Ocean islandof Diego Garcia. Two aircraft carriers, the USSAbraham Lincoln and USS George Washington, arealready in the region and another three, the USSConstellation, USS Nimitz and USS Harry Trumanare expected to arrive by January. While the carrierUSS Kitty Hawk left Japan late October for anundisclosed destination. In addition, US Armyengineering units that might be sent to Iraq arereceiving portable fold-out bridges, indicating apreparation for a mass ground invasion of Iraq, forwhich it would be required to cross the EuphratesRiver, which traverses the country.

This is the biggest massing of US military might inthe region since the 1991 Gulf War. Theannouncement by General Tommy Franks, the headof the US Central Command area, which takes in theMiddle East, that he was moving his headquartersfrom Florida to Qatar underlined the seriousness ofthe deployments.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer, said theinvasion of Iraq must go ahead because "Saddam hasnot lived up to his promise to allow inspectors intothe country". When asked if the war would still goahead if Saddam did allow them into the country,Fleischer answered: "The policy of the US is regimechange, with or without inspectors". The real reasons

If there was ever a need for a short discussion forany argument, then the American administrationsinsane, ruthless and incessant, of what can only

be termed as 'blind infatuation' for war against Iraq,provides the reader with a very apt case worthy ofsuch consideration.

The post Taliban era and the witch-hunt to surfacesomething-somewhat-somehow a credible argumentagainst Iraq has dumbfounded large elements of thewestern world, which for argument sake appeared tobe suffering from a hysteria in fathoming the hatredfor the US, post September 11th 2001. America'simperialist and selfish obesity come hell or highwater in its infamous war mongering against Iraqmay perhaps facilitate the public to fathom the anti-US hatred, I don't know.

However, what remains unequivocal is the USwitch-hunt over Iraq, its alleged weapons of massdestruction, biological warfare, violation of UNresolutions and the extent to which it will go toachieve its aims. With all of this the US would haveto be naïve to entertain that Iraq is the sole nation inInternational politics with such an 'enviable stature'.On the contrary, the fact is that these are clichés nomore than a set of dice on the current board game of'terrorism' being played by the colonial capitalistrulers of the west. They gamble in the world of geo-politics with their policies and such slogans and putone stooge to the sword for another, with the mostcontemporary addition being the notorious Karzai.What else explains the different attitudes towardsNorth Korea, criminal state of Israel, India and Iraq? The reality is that the United States of America isundoubtedly the strongest military nation in theworld. It is the nation with the biggest stockpiles ofnuclear, biological and chemical weapons of massdestruction, with a track record of not hesitating touse them against civilian populations in its quest forsupremacy. The US maintains the most advancedand sophisticated war equipment and material suchas aircraft carriers, aircraft and tanks that are capableof deploying WMD. It is a nation with 2.1 millionmilitary personnel, of whom 900,000 are deployedoverseas. Its proposed military budget in 2003 is astaggering $396.1 billion, which is bigger than thecombined annual military budgets of all the NATOcountries, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Russia,China, Iraq, Cuba, North Korea. This represents 20%of the Federal budget, with plans to spend $2.1trillion on the military over the next five years. Thisrogue state has moreover recently withdrawn from

for the war which the United States wishes to launchagainst the Islamic Ummah in Iraq is to imposeAmerica's control over Iraq and its oil and thecontinuous effort by her rulers to maintain America'sdomination of the Gulf with British influence in theregion fast diminishing.

However, despite the manifest power of the UnitedStates to comprehensively defeat any oppositionfrom the defunct Iraqi military, it is evident that thereare still two potential large obstacles to the UnitedStates' war against Iraq, which it has attempted toredress. Namely, it's domestic public opinion andworld's international opinion.

Domestic public opinion

Governments in general fear public opinion and giveit a great deal of attention. They value public opinionhighly and realise its effect, this is why they tend tomonitor it closely. In times of war and disturbances,the control of public opinion becomes all the moresignificant and governments move swiftly to quellany public opinion against them. In times of peacetheir control of public opinion becomes morerelaxed. However, if they felt that some concepts,which may damage their credibility, were beingspread they at once move to quell them and preventthem from provoking a public opinion against them.Also if they sensed that some concepts or news itemsmight trigger a public opinion against them, theywould soon take the initiative to combat such itemsand prevent it.

The military machine of any nation depends on themorale and motivation of its personnel and those ofthe supporting industries. This in turn is influencedby the prevailing thoughts and emotions in thatsociety. Satisfying the appetite for sensationalistconsumption for the western societies has never beenmore in demand, which provides an all-togetherideal opportunism for the establishments tomanufacture the surrealism it so requires to doomand glorify who and what it feels apt.

The BBC in a recent survey conducted on Tuesday,22 October 2002, suggested that one in 10 Britonscannot name a single world leader but can list up tofive characters in television soap opera 'EastEnders'.Or when asked to name a national leader, 11% failedto come up with an answer including the name of UKPrime Minister Tony Blair. In fact only a quartercould identify Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, in


slaughter hundreds of civilians, the US spokesmanwill look blank and say, 'Well I didn't see thatincident so I really can't comment. But aren't wedoing well?'"

The resolutions, the dossiers and its justificationswere clearly as flimsy as a spider's web, containingmany errors, lies and false pretexts intended todisguise the true vicious motives and reasons behindwaging this war or the threat to do so. (See thecounter refutation to the West's dossier on Iraqproduced by Hizb ut-Tahrir, Britain entitled, "TheWest's weapons of mass destruction and colonialistforeign policy" for an erudite read on the subject)

In reality what we are witnessing is the Capitalistadministration caught between the dictates ofcorporate America in general and the oil and armsindustries in particular, and the prevalent domesticpublic opinion.

International public opinion

Other countries have a stake in the present Iraqiregime, and they want assurances of a stake in futureregimes. France and Russia most notably have beenstaunch in their opposition to the US exactly forthese reasons. They have bargained for a concessionfrom the US e.g. in aid and the US must pay off othernations, in order to get their support.

To this extent we have seen the manufacturing of thelatest resolution emerge from the UN, its inceptionwas exactly the purpose it serves today, namely toestablish legitimacy and "international opinion" forthe world's most powerful nation, America and itsforeign policy objectives.

Nevertheless, the US could go alone, as the hawkshave incessantly and vociferously propagatedbecause the US is so strong that it doesn't needanyone else. But in reality, the US fears isolationism(in case it back-fires e.g. Vietnam, and because theywant to maintain friendly ties with Western allies)and so wants to go with some support. Because noman is an island, no matter how strong he is.

A Losing Battle

To this extent, despite the apparent success of thenew UN resolution on Iraq, the US will remain onthe lookout for any excuse to go to war, as SimonTisdall of the 'Guardian' newspaper dated November14, 2002 concurs. Moreover, White Housespokesman Ari Fleischer, said "The policy of the USis regime change, with or without inspectors."Reports have further suggested that the US hawkswill try to provoke a crisis, for example, in thenorthern or southern no-fly zones. They have saidall along that going through the UN and consultingthe international community was a waste of time.

Gerard Chaliand, a specialist on strategy andconsultant to the French government, says he isconvinced that the United States has taken thedecision to attack Iraq , that it will stage its attack"much earlier" than the Feb 15 date it has beentalking about, and that the motion to start theinvasion will most probably take place after the end

of Ramadhan.

Message to the Ummah

The real reasons for the war which Bush wishes tolaunch against the Islamic Ummah in Iraq, is toimpose America's control over Iraq and its oil andthe continuous effort by her rulers to maintainAmerica's exclusive domination of the Gulf havingexpelled the British influence from the region.

The reasons and motives for war are neither whatcame in the text of the resolution that was enactednor in the six points Bush mentioned in his speechbefore the UN General Assembly on 12/9/2002.

The issue goes beyond the issue of weapons of massdestruction, the return of inspectors or the removal ofthe ruling Baathist faction to whom Britain deliveredthe authority to in a 1969 coup, following which theypersisted in their secularism and allegiance to theWest throughout their rule.

Very clearly it has been demonstrated thatCapitalism intrinsically equates to colonialismdespite being coated with 21st century modernismeven with world opinion is against this barbaricsystem, today's most powerful nation can build,manipulate, legitimize or outright reject anyorientation of public opinion to unilaterally behavefor its self-interest. Undoubtedly, it requires anotherstate to challenge this imperialist march. Is there anyalternative but the Islamic Khilafah system?

Within the Islamic Khilafah system, we wouldfiercely use the state mechanisms and institutions tochallenge and rebut the misinformation disseminatedinternationally by the US and the other WesternCapitalist states. Just like the Prophet (SAW)undertook such political actions to undermine theMeccan campaign against the Muslims of Medina.Then, to use the jihad machinery to permanentlycease such corruption from the earth as Allah (SWT)commands the Muslims in Qur'an.The Khilafah Islamic system would not be like theSyrian regime of today, who on the one hand singsthe mantra of Arab nationalism and on the otherhand, stabs the same brotherly Arab state in the backby voting against it in the UN security council!

Gerard Chaliand, a specialist on strategy andconsultant to the French government, says that thehigh point of the impending attack on Iraq will be anair battle "of an incredible intensity, one that theworld has never yet known". The intensity of the USair war, he says, "will undoubtedly surprise (theIraqis) by the brutal precision". Is there anyprotection for the weak, women and children of thisworld, but through the Khilafah system? Why thenthe wait?

Sha'ban Ul-Haq & Dr. Abdul Malik

spite of the fact he currently features daily in newsbulletins and newspapers. All of which would inferthat building public support for any issue, nevermind the Iraqi campaign wouldn't be too arduous.

Since the stage-managed end of the colonial era ofBritain and other European colonial powers, thereremains a taboo against admitting the true motives ofthe American foreign policy, namely to establish anAmerican colonial empire. Hence, it is politicallyincorrect and unacceptable for the US administrationand world opinion to state that the motivation for theWar Against Terrorism and the current war has acolonial agenda. That would be perhaps the finalstraw, which would abruptly break the demisingback of capitalism today.

Like in the case of Afghanistan last year, Americahas fabricated a case against Iraq involving allegedweapons of mass destruction, biological warfare,violation of UN resolutions, contempt for humanrights and aggression towards neighbouring states.

The savage attitudes towards Iraq by the influentialPentagon hardliners Donald Rumsfeld, CondoleezzaRice, Paul Wolfowitz who have been heading thevanguard to pursue a unilateral resolve of waragainst Iraq and regime change has beenunprecedented. The US administration lead by Bush,himself the most intellectually backward Americanpresident is surrounded by advisers whosefanaticism is exceeded only by their political,military and diplomatic trickery. They have takenthis case to the people of America, and to theinternational community. The extremists of thegovernment such as Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld andPowell have been promoting this war day and nighton the television screens, and at the UN. However,these capitalist warmongers failed to win publicopinion, so they were forced from a unilateralistdirection, into gauging "world opinion" somehow togain credibility, which meant cobbling together"evidence".

Further still, the Western public have raised severalobjections towards this war, which have served toblunt their motivation towards it.

To quote, 'The Independent'; "And what acoincidence, that this evidence should promise topop up now, just as it becomes clear public opinionis against a war. It all looks as desperate as a couplecoming back from holiday and incompetently tryingto carry out an insurance fiddle". In fact the'Guardian' newspaper reported that the CIA were toldto "produce the necessary evidence" to indict a caseagainst Iraq! Scott Ritter, who led the UNinspections team, has stated repeatedly that anynuclear potential was destroyed. Even the last bunchof inspectors eventually left because they admittedthey were acting as spies.

Expect piles of it. Just like the stories of Germansraping nuns in 1914 and Iraqis throwing babies outof incubators in 1990, admitted as lies once thosewars were over. 'The Independent' newspaper quiteaptly states, "But the football manager theAmericans will try to copy once the war starts will beArsène Wenger. Every time wayward bombs


STRAW COMMENTS ON BRITAIN'SCOLONIAL PAST WHILST CONTINUINGUPON COLONIALISM

The UK Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw in arecent interview with a British magazine,the New Statesman commented on Britain's

colonial past. He focussed on the legacy ofphysical colonialism in an attempt to portrayBritain as remorseful of its past.

He said the Balfour Declaration of 1917 in whichBritain pledged support for a Jewish homeland inPalestine and the contradictory assurances givento Palestinians were not entirely honourable.

"The Balfour declaration and the contradictoryassurances which were being given to Palestiniansin private at the same time as they were beinggiven to the Israelis - again, an interesting historyfor us, but not an honourable one," he said.

Mr Straw acknowledged "some quite seriousmistakes" in India and Pakistan. He said, "Wewere complacent with what happened in Kashmir,the boundaries weren't published until two daysafter independence. Bad story for us. Theconsequences are still there."

In regards to Afghanistan he commented, - "wherewe played less than a glorious role over a centuryand a half..."

He mentioned Iraq, the region which wasgoverned by Britain under the mandate of theLeague of Nations after the defeat of the Khilafahin World War I. "The odd lines for Iraq's borderswere drawn by Brits," he said. These statements attempt to portray Britain asregretful of its past so that it is seen in a betterlight in the international arena whilst ignoring thereality of its present colonialism. The pursuit ofmaterial interests lies at the heart of capitalism.Colonialism is therefore an inherent part of it as itis the enforcement of political, military, culturaland economic control over weak nations in orderto exploit them. Therefore Britain like allcapitalist states primary aim in foreign policy isfurthering national interests.

Britain's current alliance with America and itswarmongering towards Iraq is spurred by itsmaterial, economic and strategic interests.Corporate interests are definitely a key factor forthis impending war. Recently Lord Browne, chiefexecutive of BP and one of New Labour'sfavourite industrialists warned Washington not tocarve up Iraq for its own oil companies in theaftermath of any future war. He said:

"We have let it be known that the thing we wouldlike to make sure, if Iraq changes regime, is thatthere should be a level playing field for theselection of oil companies to go in there if they'reneeded to do the work there."

Britain's attack upon the Muslims of Afghanistanwas driven by its competition with America overthe vast resources of Central Asia. The vast oil andgas supplies hosted by the Central AsianRepublics are estimated at a staggering $5 trillion,including 6.6 trillion cubic metres of natural gas.Amoco, BP, Chevron, Exxon, Mobil and Unocalare all engaged in a multi-billion dollar frenzy toextract resources from the Central Asianrepublics. The importance of controlling the routeout of Central Asia was highlighted by energyexpert, James Dorian, on 10/9/01 in Oil & GasJournal, "Those who control the oil routes out ofCentral Asia will impact all the future directionand quantities of flow and the distribution ofrevenues from new production."

Britain continues to support the illegitimate stateof Israel whilst Sharon butchers the Muslims ofPalestine. Since the time of Balfour, the Britishhave aimed for Israel to be a dagger in the heart ofthe Islamic world that acts as a threat to anypotential Islamic uprising. The call for aPalestinian state that Straw mentioned is aimed atthe Muslims fundamentally accepting theexistence of Israel and being content in having atotally dependent, weak Palestinian non-entity.

Britain is a leading member of the IMF and WorldBank which enslaves the third world by interestbased loans and makes their economies dependentupon the West via structural adjustmentprogrammes and the like. It is the West'scolonialism that has led to a situation where over1 billion people live on less than $1 a day.

Britain along with America attempts to culturallycolonise the minds of the Muslims by promotingthe corrupt values of capitalism in order that theMuslims accept the status quo and to ensure thatthe Islamic state does not return to challenge theirhegemony. In order to intellectually enslave theMuslims they promote the ideas such assecularism, freedom, democracy, pluralism,compromise and inter-faith dialogue. Tony Blairin a recent speech given at the Lord Mayor'sbanquet said in response the Islamic threat:

"…we need to create bridges of understandingbetween religious faiths also. Part of thefanaticism is religious. Part of the solution lies inreligion too. George Carey's work in the inter-faithfield was pioneering especially in the AlexandriaProcess, which I commend. Within Islam,moderate voices are now speaking up, the worldover. They need encouragement."

"The interdependence of the modern world hasnever been clearer; the need for a commonresponse never greater; the values of freedom,justice and tolerance of our diversity never morerelevant…"

If Britain was truly remorseful of its colonialismthen it would immediately stop interfering in thepolitical affairs of the third world including theMuslim world, it would break its alliance withAmerica against Iraq, pay reparations for thedamage it has caused and return the stolenproperty from the third world such as the KohiNoor diamond exhibited in the Queen's crown andmany other stolen jewels and artefacts.

Although Britain and America attempt to portraytheir foreign policies as 'just' or 'ethical', the realitydemonstrates that the old form of colonisation thatmanifested in physical occupation of lands hasbeen replaced by a new imperialism, which usesemploys different styles for the same aim. Thiswas clearly expressed by Tony Blair's foreignpolicy adviser Robert Cooper who said, "Thechallenge to the post-modern world is to get usedto the idea of double standards. Among ourselves,we operate on the basis of laws and opencooperative security. But when dealing with moreold-fashioned kinds of states outside the post-modern continent of Europe, we need to revert tothe rougher methods of an earlier era - force, pre-emptive attack, deception, whatever is necessaryto deal with those who still live in the nineteenthcentury world of every state for itself. Amongourselves, we keep the law but when we areoperating in the jungle, we must also use the lawsof the jungle…What is needed then is a new kindof imperialism, one acceptable to a world ofhuman rights and cosmopolitan values. We canalready discern its outline: an imperialism which,like all imperialism, aims to bring order andorganisation but which rests today on thevoluntary principle…" [Robert Cooper, The NewLiberal Imperialism, the Foreign Policy Centre,

Letters to the Editor

Please address your lettersand questions to theEditorial Team, either byemail or post at thefollowing addresses:

email: [email protected]

or write to: Khilafah Magazine, Suite 298,56 Gloucester Road, London,SW7 4UB

B


Published by Al-Khilafah Publications

Re: Nigeria

Asalamualikum- I would like to sayJAZALLAHUKHIRE! for emailing and informingme on such important issues which I believe effect theMuslim Ummah very much and it is important that weare up-to-date with such issues, a lot of the Muslimsturn a blind eye on such issues (beauty pageant,Bushes intentions etc) and don't realise how these canor are effecting the prophets Ummah. I hope that youcarry on forwarding and bringing theses news to usand may Allah SWT help you in your work. Sister, UK

Salam,There is an urgent need for(us) muslims to get united.This is the only panacea to the oppression andhumiliation of Muslims around the world. Theassaults on Islam and Muslims all over the worldshould be criticised and resisted. Muslims shouldspeak with one voice and begin to think of how tooffer helping hands to oppressed brothers and sistersall over the world. Insha Allahu, Islam will prevailover ideologies. May the enemies of islam never findpeace until they find islam.Amen. Surajudeen, Nigeria

Re: US war on Terrorism

I thought the commentary coinciding with PresidentBush's message for Ramadan was both poignant andalarming. As an American citizen, who is veryinterested in Islam, I find the actions of my owncountry quite disappointing. The fact that politiciansmake politically correct addresses in order to appearunbiased really points to the true agenda.

The United States does remain committed tooppression, tyranny and colonialism. Why can't theUS simply coexist with the rest of the nations onearth? MONEY. The almighty dollar drives everyAmerican in every action. (Including myselfregrettably) This article was an inspiration for me andwill certainly influence not only my actions, but alsomy attitude.Mike Ohio, USA

Dear Sir, It is true that Muslims living in this world speakingdifferent languages and belonging to differentcountries and cultures are brothers to each otherbonded with the thread of Islam. Reports of atrocitieson Muslim minorities especially in countries whereMuslims are struggling for independence and separateIslamic state abound. At one time they may beMuslims of Chechnya and other time they may beMuslims of Kashmir, Bosnia or Mindanao inPhilippines. However the basic underlying fact is thatthey are challenging the oppressive regimes whichterm them as terrorists. Take the case of our KashmiriMujahideen.

Everyday newspapers in India carry reports of youngMujahideen being detained or gunned down by

2002]

In contrast to the materialistic centric approachof foreign policy, Islam seeks simply to spreadits ideas and system so that the injustices ofhuman inspired legislation are removed. TheIslamic conquests under the Khilafah were forconveying the message of Islam to the world andmaking the word of Allah (swt) the Highest.They were not designed to exploit and colonisepeople, or to pillage the resources of a land. TheKhilafah never launched a war to secure jobs forits citizens, to gain contracts for its companies orto line the pockets of the ruling class with riches.The Khilafah never looked to people asconqueror and conquered or winners and losers,but rather as citizens. This is how a state thatbegan in Madina expanded to cover Persia,North Africa, Central Asia and as far asIndonesia, until today the people in these landsare one Ummah that long for the return of theKhilafah. In contrast, the hatred of Westernimperialism amongst those who lived and liveunder the shackles of the colonialists exists tothis day and none of them are calling for itsreturn.

As Muslims it is our duty to expose thecolonialism of Britain as well as the othercapitalist nations whilst simultaneouslyexplaining how true justice can only return tothe world by the implementation of Islam.

Hizb ut-Tahrir, Britain21 November 2002

security forces. There are several cases of youth andmen who have gone missing. Sometimes the policemanages to kill them in stage managed encounters andbrands them as terrorists planning to carry outsubversive activities in the country or aiming to kill aVIP.

The appalling thing about these encounters is that themoment a person tries to question the truth behindthem he is branded as anti-national. Being a journalistI have come across many cases where the press isforced to take whatever is dictated to them by thepolice. You are not supposed to ask the police beyonda certain point. Being a Muslim I have sometimes triedto go beyond the usual encounter briefing but to mysurprise I faced condemnation and snide remarks frompeople of my own fraternity. Though there are reportsof human rights violations by security forces,governments in power have used the ghost ofterrorism to silence critics. What is the common mansupposed to do in such a situation. It is obvious thatthe misguided youth in the society vent their ire andanger by falling into wrong hands.yours sincerely,Aisha Khan, Pakistan

Re: War on Iraq - dossier launch

I'm very interested in learning how people may cometogether and find true justice in a severely unbalancedand unjust world.

Please get me a copy of the dossier of evidence as I ama seeker of the truth. I've no money to contribute orcover postage. I'm one of the poverty stricken andsuffering Americans.Shawn Gallup, Newport, USA

I could not agree with all that is said, but I must saysomething's said are right on the money. People aretoo scared to say them. If Islam is a peaceful "deen" Iwonder what had prompted the Bush administration todrop bombs affecting innocent lives in Afghanistanduring the month of Ramadan. It is plain wrong froma personal point of view, and I hope it does not happenagain.[And say: Truth has (now) arrived, and falsehoodperished; for falsehood is (by it's nature) bound toperish.]Lang Tunkara , Indonesia

Salaam Alaikum, Truely, the wisdom that they say Muslims have hasmanifested itself in your document titled 'The TrueMotives Behind The Impending War on Iraq' Neverever have I been so moved by a document, especiallythe concluding logic. Permit me to adopt this phrase ordefinition culled from your document. "...rid the worldof the corrupt system of capitalism, a system whichhas no humility, humanity or compassion and whoseforeign policy treats the world and its inhabitants asmere cattle fodder."Mas'salaam.Marrei, Hafza

khilafah magazine december 2002

Documents

previous month

blind infatuationfor

blessed month of ramadan

month of great blessing

khilafah magazine

abritish magazine

time andenergy

theprophet saw